Northolt stand-off: Two day seige ends as officers storm house 'without anyone coming to harm'

Police feared the man behind the barricade had a stockpile of petrol

Armed officers at the siege of the stand off in Northolt (EPA/HANNAH MCKAY)

A two-day stand-off between police and a man said to be in possession of dangerous items including petrol and combustibles has ended.

Officers forced their way into the address in Northolt, west London, and detained a man at around 8.10pm on Sunday, Scotland Yard said.

Up to 80 people have been evacuated from addresses in the immediate area as a precaution.

A full search of the property is under way to ensure the area is safe and local residents can return to their homes as quickly as possible, police said.

Police were called to the property on Wood End Lane shortly before 1am on Saturday after reports of concern for an occupant and that hazardous articles were inside.

Negotiations with the man were unsuccessful, prompting police to attempt to gain access to the property.

The Met said its priority had been to get the man out of the address safely.

Chief Superintendent Paul Martin said: "I am really pleased that this incident has now ended, and importantly ended without anyone coming to harm.

"Our key priority throughout this was to get the man out of the address safely as we had growing concerns about his well-being and believed him to be in crisis.

"After attempts to negotiate over a number of days did not work, we used specialist officers to work out how we could gain entry to the address as safely as we could. They did that this evening."

Mr Martin stressed that searches of the property will be conducted "as quickly as we can to make sure people get home".

He added: "I would like to thank all the local residents, especially those who were hugely disrupted by not being able to return to their homes, for their patience and co-operation."

There is no suggestion the incident was terror-related or linked to any other ongoing police operation or investigation.

Press Association