Police, The Netherlands
Police rushed to the offices of a Dutch radio station after a woman was taken hostage by a man with a knife on 17 August iStock

A woman was taken hostage by a man armed with a knife at a Dutch radio station on Thursday morning (17 August).

Police rushed to the offices of radio station 3FM in Hilversum, a city around 14 miles south of Amsterdam, just after 8am (7am BST) after they received reports of a hostage situation.

The man reportedly threatened the woman, an employee at the station, by holding a knife against her throat in the car park. He then took her into a room in the building and locked the door.

According to a receptionist working in the building, the man spoke broken English.

Police found a knife and a bag on the street outside, around 50m from the broadcasting house.

A video shared on social media showed police officers wearing bulletproof vests entering the building after a negotiator spoke to the man.

The hostage has been released and is being looked after by ambulance staff. She did not appear to have been injured in the incident. The attacker has been arrested.

A police spokeswoman said she had no further information about the identity of the hostage-taker and his possible motive.