The Penryn landlords who have been subjected to strong criticism since news broke that they had unknowingly taken in a wanted man have responded to the community exclusively via Falmouth Nub News.

Nate Foster and Elkee Mills, landlords at The Kings Arms, have spoken to us about their response to angry comments aimed at them on social media by local residents.

The news was brought to light after an armed police situation unfolded outside The Kings Arms on Sunday afternoon.

The couple says they stand by their decision to offer accommodation to the man and say comments they gave to other media have been taken out of context.

Nate told Nub News: "We completely stand by our decision to rent him a room. We gave a room to a homeless person in the time of the pandemic, which we are allowed to do.

"Which then benefited everybody - we were able to get some money for the bills that desperately need paying."

A large criticism which has been aimed at the couple was that they reportedly allowed the man's wife and kids to visit and stay with him.

Nate said: "The wife and kids didn't come down from up country, they came from Plymouth.

"It is mixed because if you're allowed to go and see friends and family within the rules, why isn't she allowed to come and see him?

"There are lots of factors that have gone on that I don't think the public fully understands."

Another criticism that has been fired at the couple is their comment on how the lodgers would 'come and go'.

Elkee told Nub News: "They were not coming and going. They understood the rules that they could not go and see members of the public and then come back.

"They understood we were part of the lockdown and we were following lockdown rules.

"Obviously they were able to get out and do what they wanted. We were not going to put a tag on them and know their every movement, we can't physically do that, but - we understood to the best of our knowledge that they were following lockdown rules."

The couple told Nub News that if they hadn't taken lodgers, they would not have been able to sustain the business.

Nate said: "What has failed to be mentioned is that we haven't been able to access a grant, we have had no financial help or income, we were unable to furlough staff - we've had no money coming from March till possibly October - we had to keep our business afloat."

Elkee told Nub News that a previous comment about now having a spare room available was taken out of context when it was meant in jest.

"You have got to imagine yesterday that we were under extreme stress and we had a little bit of a laugh and joke to try and calm us down, it got taken as gospel," Elkee told us.

The police are calling the incident a "pre-planned firearms operation" with no risk of life to the public.