POLICE fired tasers to end a 19-hour siege at a home in Southend.

The shots were fired at 7.40am today, Thursday, and shortly afterwards a man in handcuffs was led out of the house in Elizabeth Road and into a waiting ambulance.

A police spokesman said: "Officers entered the address this morning and arrested a 52-year-old man on suspicion of threats to kill.

"The man has been taken to Southend hospital for a check up."

Two women - one in handcuffs - were removed from the besieged home between 4am and 5am today.

Police later announced two local women, aged 36 and 51, have been arrested on suspicion of possession of firearms, and are currently in custody.

The drama began after a man at the property said he had a gun when police tried to arrest him at around 12.15pm yesterday, Wednesday.

The claim sparked the stalemate that lasted into the early hours of the morning, with officers keeping watch outside while trained negotiators tried to reason with the man.

The silence was briefly broken at about 1.30am as officers launched a failed bid to break the siege.

They could be heard shouting at the man to go to the window and put his hands up for 45 minutes while police dogs barked wildly.

The first women emerged just after 4am, looking bedraggled and ill. She was treated in an ambulance for 30 minutes before being taken away by police officers.

The second woman, who was handcuffed, appeared just before 5am. She was interrogated by officers, placed in the back of a police car and driven away.

A section of Eastern Esplanade between Lifstan Way and Victoria Road, which had been closed throughout the night, reopened at 8.25am. Elizabeth Road reopened at 8.40am

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