Police have also detained a woman after gunfire in West Street in the early hours of Saturday morning.

RUC officers also found a handgun which is being examined by ballistic experts to establish if had been used before.

No-one was hurt during the incident which comes amid increasing tension in the town. Loyalists are preparing to stage a major demonstration later this month in support of Orangemen involved in the Drumcree stand-off.

Earlier this week, several people were hurt when police were attacked with sticks, bottles and stones hurled from a section of the crowd which broke away from a protest near Drumcree parish church.

The loyalist protest at Drumcree centres on the ban imposed by the Northern Ireland Parades Commission on their traditional march through a republican housing estate.

The Orangemen say they will not leave Drumcree until they are allowed to complete their parade through the area.