Armed response units descended on a busy Waterloo street on Sunday night after fears over a possible "firearms" sighting were reported to police.
Merseyside Police confirmed that officers were called at around 11pm to Waterloo Road after two men, one riding a quad bike and the other on a motorcycle, were seen "acting suspiciously".
Fears were raised that one of the men was "carrying a gun" and so armed response units were deployed - but it turned out to be a false alarm.
The bikes were spotted parked outside Parnell's on South Road , close to Church Road, where the riders were stopped and searched but no weapon was found.
No arrests were made - and police said the incident was being treated as a "false call with good intentions".
Photos taken at the scene show a number of police vehicles parked outside Parnell's while officers responded to the false call.
The bikes, one black quad bike and a black and white motorbike, can be seen parked outside the bar while two men were searched by police.
In a short statement shared with the ECHO , a spokeswoman for Merseyside Police said: "Officers were called at around 11pm to Waterloo Road after two men, one riding a motorcycle and one on a quad bike were seen acting suspiciously.
"The bikes were sighted shortly afterwards parked outside Parnell’s, South Road where the riders were stop and searched with a negative result.
"No arrests were made and the call was closed as a ‘false call with good intentions’."
