Ongoing crossbow siege at Stretford house (From Messenger Newspapers)
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Ongoing crossbow siege at Stretford house
11:01am Friday 15th March 2013 in News
North Lonsdale Street this morning
A MAN armed with a crossbow has barricaded himself in a Stretford house and is embroiled in an ongoing stand-off with police.
The siege has continued since last night and specialist police negotiators and are present at the incident on North Lonsdale Street in the Gorse Hill area.
Police and social workers were first called to the address at 8.30pm last night following reports of concern for a man.
The 31-year-old man, who is described as vulnerable, then became abusive to officers, threatening them with the weapon, and the stand-off ensued.
Armed police continue to surround the house.
The address is close to Gorse Hill Primary School but it is understood that no evacuations have been made, but a cordon is in place on North Lonsdale Street.
A resident of North Lonsdale Street said: "I live on the street where the seige is and have seen it unfold overnight.
"Very heavy police presence since 10pm last night. I left at 9am and armed police very much in attendance but very quiet around."
Supt Simon Retford said: "We do not believe that anyone in the address is there under duress but our priority at the moment is to ensure that we reach a peaceful conclusion to this incident, and that that this man gets the appropriate support he needs from our partner agencies.
"I would reassure the local community not to be overly alarmed by what is happening as highly trained officers are currently dealing with this incident.
"We have put a cordon in place around the house as part of the co-ordinated police response that is normally implemented when an incident of this nature occurs.
"As part of this, a small number of officers who are there are armed, but the main focus of our efforts is through the negotiating team.
"We are working closely with the local authority to minimise any disruption to the community and thank them for their support.
"Officers have been on the ground to offer reassurance to local people."
