Police have said a man was arrested in the early hours of this morning following an hours-long standoff with armed police in Hartlepool. 

Overnight, an incident on Elwick Road, Hartlepool, escalated as a man walked onto the roof of a house, brandishing a knife. 

Residents then reported that "loud bangs" and "flashes" came from the home when the man climbed back through the loft window.  

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The Northern Echo:

A spokesperson for Cleveland Police said a 34-year-old resident was arrested on suspicion of stalking, threats to kill, assaulting an emergency worker and causing unnecessary suffering to an animal.

A spokesperson for Cleveland Police said: "A man was arrested in the early hours of this morning, Wednesday March 20, after an incident at a property on Elwick Road in Hartlepool, where a man barricaded himself inside after reportedly making a number of threats.

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"A 34-year-old man remains in police custody at this time on suspicion of stalking, threats to kill, assaulting an emergency worker and causing unnecessary suffering to an animal."

Yesterday (Tuesday, March 19), armed police, fire rescue services, and ambulance were all in attendance at the house. 

Eyewitnesses at the scene have described seeing police with riot shields entering the property at about 9.30am yesterday morning.