Police in 25-hour stand-off with armed man in Staffordshire

Wearing a stab vest and a helmet, a woman arrived on the scene with a McDonald's, along with a hot drink of some kind.

Onlookers were still not able to get back into their houses though, as the standoff continued.

One eyewitness said: "The police have been very nice about it and have even got an old dear her medication for her.

"But it's starting to become quite frustrating now.

“They've just took him in a McDonald's to try and coax him out.

"The main thing is that this is resolved peacefully, that's all we want really."

Despite the resident's claims, Staffordshire police clarified that the McDonald's was not for the man.

The man was believed to have been wielding a crossbow out of the window of the Airbnb property.

The standoff started at around 10:30am in Tamworth, Staffordshire, when police arrived in numbers.

The road itself was completely locked down by the officers and expert negotiators were brought in with the aim of ending the siege.

Armed officers were also present at the scene, with their weapons trained on the property on Cross Street.

The man is believed to have barricaded himself in the house with the crossbow, as well as shouting threats out of the window.

Around 30 properties have been emptied of people for their safety.

A statement from Staffordshire Police read: "Officers remain at the scene of an ongoing incident at a property on Cross Street in Kettlebrook, Tamworth.

"We were called to the address at 10.30am yesterday following reports of concerns for the welfare of a man.

The man had refused to leave the property and a number of threats had been made.

"He has since engaged with specially-trained negotiators who remain at the scene.

"No one has been reported injured.

"A temporary road closure remains in place and we are working hard to bring the incident to a safe conclusion, for everyone, as soon as possible.

"We would like to thank local residents and businesses for their understanding and patience throughout this time."

Another local said: "It's pretty frightening stuff. This guy who was staying there is locked in with a crossbow.

"Officers have been communicating with him but he's not budged at all and I don't know what is taking them so long.

"There must have been around 50 cops on the street yesterday. You can hear them shouting to each other but whatever they are saying hasn't worked so far.

"I've been unable to get to my house for an entire day now, I've stayed with friends overnight and I've come back to get my work uniform but I can't."

A third resident added: "We just hope it all comes to a safe conclusion.

“It's been really tense and it's scary that this can happen on your doorstep.

"To know there's a man in there armed with a deadly weapon is very worrying. This is a quiet street usually.

"But now there's SWAT teams with guns, police dogs and officers swarming the place. It's been crazy."