Siege ends peacefully after seven-hour stand-off

Nov 1 2007 by Liam Murphy, Liverpool Daily Post

A SEVEN-HOUR siege at a house in Ellesmere Port ended peacefully last night.

Dozens of people were finally allowed to return to their homes after police evacuated them when a man barricaded himself in the house of an ex-partner.

Neighbours said they believed the man, aged 42, had been protesting about being unable to see his children.

The siege began around 8.30am yesterday when Cheshire Police were called to Seymour Drive in the Overpool area of Ellesmere Port.

Armed police were among dozens of officers, including some in riot gear, who surrounded the house on “the green” just off Seymour Drive.

Paramedics and firefighters also remained on stand-by at the scene.

Cheshire Police said a number of officers “with the capacity to arm” were at the property.

Negotiators spent the day talking to the man, who they described as being in a “highly agitated state.”

A Cheshire Police spokesman said it was a domestic incident and there was nobody else in the house with the man.

Ellesmere Port Salvation Army officers arrived around 2pm and, after giving food and drink to the emergency services, handed out cups of tea, sandwiches and cakes to residents.

Some residents said they felt sorry for the man, who has become known in the area for walking round with placards saying he is being poorly treated and demanding access to his children.

At 3.42pm, as pupils from nearby schools in the Overpool area began returning home and the crowd had increased, the man, who has not been named, came out of the house voluntarily.

Police said he was checked by paramedics and taken to the Countess of Chester Hospital. He was also arrested on suspicion of burglary and was due to be questioned last night.