A MAN caught climbing into the grounds of an Oxford mosque was suspected of having an 'offensive weapon.'

Members of Oxford Central Mosque told the Oxford Mail on Thursday how they helped to detain a suspicious man, as he clambered over a wall into their property off Cowley Road.

They kept him talking after noticing he seemed distressed and was wearing a tag around his ankle, before a large number of police officers arrived and made an arrest.

As the man had climbed over from a garden in Divinity Road, they wondered if the incident could be linked to a sex attack in Divinity Road the Saturday before.

However, police later confirmed no arrests had been made in relation to the attack, as of that Thursday evening. 

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Today, Thames Valley Police spokesman Kieren Bushnell confirmed that the mosque arrest related to suspected possession of a weapon. 

He said: "Officers were called to reports of a man who was believed to be hiding at the Oxford Central Mosque at 12.21pm on February 14.

"A 30-year-old man from Oxford was subsequently arrested on suspicion of possessing an offensive weapon in a public place.

"He has since been released under investigation."

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A committee member at the mosque, who questioned the man when he jumped over, said he appeared to be holding 'a metal bar and some sort of wooden weapon'. 

The mosque's press spokesman Faisal Aziz said at the time: "We have a duty of care to our whole community and we are very proud of our committee member - he put his own safety at risk."