7:00am Sunday 15th August 2010
A NEIGHBOUR who witnessed a dramatic armed siege in Westcliff has praised police handling of the incident.
Officers stormed a building in Station Road, Westcliff, following reports a man was brandishing a gun.
They arrested three men from Westcliff, aged 41, 43, and 60, who were all in police custody last night for questioning.
Police then arrested a 28-year-old man from Dagenham, who was unconnected to the incident, but is believed to have exposed himself at the police helicopter.
Trevor Bell, 65, who lives in the street, saw the armed police take one of the suspects to the floor outside the Pavilion newsagents, opposite the Cliffs Pavilion.
He said: “This guy was putting up a hell of a fight, and the only way they could get him in handcuffs and in the van was with a lot of them.
“It’s the only way it could have been done, but they did it so gently, it was almost like they were handling a baby. I think they did an extremely good job.”
Firearms officers then moved on to surround a terraced house, in Station Road, at about 4.50pm on Wednesday.
They took two further suspects from the building.
Armed police had arrived on site at about 4.50pm, on Wednesday, because of a tip-off from a passer-by.
Chief Inspector Andy Prophet, of Southend police, said: “We arrested three men after a member of the public rang to say there was a male outside that premises with a handgun. It was a member of the public that led to the deployment down there, as opposed to anything pre-planned.”
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