Four people are being held hostage in a French bank by a man claiming he's linked to al-Qaeda. Police say he fired one shot as he barged into a branch of the CIC bank in Toulouse.

Apparently he demanded to speak to members of the crack team that shot Mohamed Merah in the same city back in March. 23-year-old Merah was killed in a police shoot-out last month after he barricaded himself into his flat. He was a self-proclaimed Islamist and shot 7 people, 3 of them young children.

At the moment police haven't confirmed his identity or that he actually is linked to al-Qaeda in any way. The BBC are quoting police official Cedric Delage, who could well be an attempted armed robbery which has gone wrong.

Written & Presented by Marverine Cole