UPDATE - Man arrested after threatening to hurt himself during rooftop stand-off with police

The man, believed to be in his early 20s, had been standing on a first-floor ledge above the Lucky Star shop in Aldborough Road South since about 8.15am. Police were called to the scene at around 9.40am to reports the man was threatening self-harm and a police cordon was set up in Aldborough Road South and adjacent roads.

Eyewitnesses heard the man shout and swear at officers, including negotiators, who stood outside the shop speaking to him.

During the impasse which lasted for six hours, a police officer on the scene said the man had “waved a knife around”.

He moved in and out of a window into a home above the shop on a number of occasions and also walked onto the roofs of two neighbouring shops.

Nicki Dhaliwal, of Sathguru Ltd, a plumbing shop two doors down from Lucky Star, said police marksmen were brought to the scene and said the man shouted at them, “shoot me, shoot me”.

The impasse came to an end at 2.10pm when officers holding riot shields were seen entering the home above Lucky Star through its front door, also on the ground level and next to the shop.

Within five minutes, the man was brought out in handcuffs.

Ms Dhaliwal overheard a number of exchanges between the man and police while she waited inside her shop.

She said: “[The police] got the dogs out. When they came, they got vicious and he got more angry.

“He said he wanted to see his mum.

“My kids got frightened and we put them in the office. “The police were saying your mum is here, you can see her.”

An eyewitness who saw the man taken away said he was Asian, around 5ft 10ins tall, and aged between 20 and 24.

Kusum Sidhar, 56, was running the Redbridge Lunch Community Club in St John the Evangelist church in St John’s Road, opposite the shop.

She said: “We could see him from our club.

“He was using very crude language and he was telling them [the police] off.”

Enquiries have been made with Redbridge police about the arrest.