A 20-year-old Wokingham man was arrested after a report of a man with a weapon in Cantley Park put nearby schools into lockdown on Monday. What police have said.

A 20-year-old man from Wokingham has been arrested after a report of a man with a weapon in Cantley Park on Monday afternoon. Schools near the park went into a temporary lockdown while officers dealt with it.

Thames Valley Police said the man was arrested on suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon in a public place. The force said he remained in police custody on Tuesday morning. That arrest was confirmed to the Bracknell News and Wokingham Today. He has not been charged, and an arrest is not a finding of guilt.

What the police said on Monday

Officers were called to Cantley Park on Monday afternoon after a report of a man seen with a weapon in the area. The force said schools in the area went into lockdown as a precaution, had since reopened, and that officers were carrying out extensive enquiries at the scene.

In its statement, carried by the BBC and the Bracknell News, Thames Valley Police said:

“We understand this may cause concern within the local community, but there is a significant police presence in the area and we are taking all necessary steps to manage the incident safely.”

The force has not released a description of the man or said what kind of weapon was involved, and it has not put a statement on its own news page. We have left out descriptions given by witnesses and on social media, because the police have not confirmed them.

Schools reopened as normal on Tuesday morning, the force said.

How often weapons offences are recorded here

Possession of weapons offences are rare around Cantley Park. The Home Office police.uk street-level data records nine within a mile of the park in the 12 months from September 2025 to August 2026. That is out of 1,434 crimes of all kinds in the same area over the same period.

  • No month had more than two.
  • None of the nine was mapped to the park itself. Police.uk places each crime at the nearest street or landmark, not an exact address.
  • Violence and sexual offences were the most common category, at 539 of the 1,434.
Bar chart of possession of weapons offences recorded within a mile of Cantley Park, Wokingham, by month from September 2025 to August 2026: none in September, one in October, one in November, none in December, one in January, one in February, none in March, two in April, one in May, none in June, none in July and two in August. Nine in total out of 1,434 crimes of all kinds.
Possession of weapons offences within a mile of Cantley Park, September 2025 to August 2026. Source: police.uk open data. Chart by Wokingham Online
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The September figures have not been published yet, so Monday’s incident does not appear in them.

What it means for you

  • Schools are open as normal. If your child’s school sent a lockdown notice on Monday, its own website or parent app is the place to check for any follow-up.
  • The park is open. Cantley Park is home to Wokingham Theatre and playing fields. The police have not announced any closure or cordon.
  • If you saw something on Monday afternoon, contact Thames Valley Police on 101 or through its online reporting form. To stay anonymous, call the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
  • In an emergency, or if you see someone carrying a weapon, call 999.

We will update this page if the force announces a charge, a release or anything else about the incident.

For what is on at the park and around town, see things to do in Wokingham.