Armed police surround house in Earlsdon...

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Residents have been told to stay inside their homes



An eyewitness says the number of armed police officers in a taped off Coventry street has now reached between 10 and 20.

The dramatics scenes are unfolding in Earlsdon Avenue North, with a large cordon in place stretching down the Earlsdon high street and also including Newcombe Road.

The situation originally began in the early hours when West Midlands Police said it was called to "conduct a safe and well check on a man and a child" at an address in the street.

Since then the emergency services presence has gradually increased while people have been told to stay inside their homes.

A resident living nearby, who did not wish to be named, said: "I hadn't noticed anything until around noon when I opened our blinds and saw about four or five police cars and a van.

"At that time there was only one armed officer, but over the course of the next three or four hours they presence of armed police slowly increased to the point that now there's between 10 and 20 armed officers here.

"There are at least six police cars and vans, four of five unmarked cars and four ambulances.

"The first real movement was recently when the officers were gathering, one had a ladder, and they went around the corner."

The witness told us that although they haven't tried to leave their home, they have seen others go to leave before being pointed back inside by police.

A spokesman for West Midlands Police said: "We went to conduct a safe and well check on a man and a child at an address in Earlsdon Avenue North, Coventry, just before 12.20am this morning (January 9).

"A man inside the property is refusing to come out. Specialist resources have been called and officers remain at the scene this afternoon.

"The road is sealed off while officers deal with the situation."

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The scene outside Ealsdon Library:


Corner of Newcombe Road and Earlsdon Avenue:

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'Terrified' Earlsdon residents trapped and powerless as police siege continues



Residents living within a large police cordon in Earlsdon have spoken of their terror as armed officers continue to lay siege to a house in the area.

Police have surrounded a house in Earlsdon Avenue North, where a man is refusing to come out of the property.

He has his eight-year-old son with him and police say there are concerns for their safety.

Armed police are at the scene, where one marksman has been seen with his weapon pointed at the house, and people in the affected area remain unable to leave their homes.

Samantha Chick, whose parents live within the cordon in Newcombe Road - just a few houses from the home involved - told CoventryLive how her mum had not been able to reenter her house last night (January 9).

And it took a period of time before her dad was allowed to get back into his house after returning from work yesterday.

"She (Samantha's mum) came back to my house and at about 7.30pm I came here (to the scene) to see if she could go home but they said ‘no’," she said.

"This morning I took my son to Hearsall School - going around the cordon - and then came here to see if dad could come out and was told that if he did they didn’t know if he could go back in."

Samantha, who was back at the cordon again to drop medication off for her dad, said Earlsdon is “not an area where you normally expect something like this to happen”.

Laura Emily Bush shared her experience from inside the cordon on social media.

"We can see armed police waiting outside the house in Earlsdon, right now," she tweeted shortly after midday.

"8 year old inside must be terrified. We still aren't allowed out our houses in the cordon area. Never seen anything like it."

The incident began shortly after midnight into Sunday morning (January 9) and has gradually seen more and more officers arrive.

One couple, who wish to remain anonymous, and are stuck inside their house, spoke to CoventryLive about their experience.

They live on the corner of Newcombe Road and Earlsdon Avenue North, and their bedroom faces the property involved.

They said: "Currently outside our house, we have armed police pointing at the house [involved], we can't leave our house.

"It has been quite hard, [my partner] tried to go out yesterday to get essentials, he managed to get out but they wouldn't let him back in... he managed to get back in but it took a while. As of this morning we have been told to stay in the house altogether."

She added that she has not been able to leave the house to get to work.

She added: "It was very broken sleep last night, it's worrying for the young lad [involved].

"We just hope for a peaceful end to it, sooner rather than later.

"We are worried but it's a strange feeling being worried about what's going on and feeling the safest you've ever been. We're on a police cordoned off area."

The couple, who have lived in the area for eight years, said: "We can see several armed police, God knows up the streets what's happening there - you feel safe and worried at the same time."

They added "We are very scared, it is a very scary thing for armed police to be outside your house... we hope that it comes to a calm ending."

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Council offers temporary accommodation to stranded families

Coventry City Council is arranging temporary accommodation for those unable to enter their homes due to an ongoing armed stand-off in Earlsdon.

A rest centre has been set up at Earlsdon Library for those who need it, and Coventry City Council are working to arrange temporary accommodation for families stranded outside the police cordon.

A spokesperson for Coventry City Council said: “We are supporting the police as they respond to an on-going incident on Earlsdon Avenue North. We can confirm that we have organised a rest centre for those who need it within Earlsdon Library and we will also arrange temporary accommodation for anyone that is unable to enter their homes because of the police cordon.”

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What legal right do the police have to bar people from entering their own homes regardless of whether they consider it to be safe or not?

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Specialist negotiators called in as armed man remains holed-up in Earlsdon home with son, 8



Specialist negotiators are continuing to try and coax an armed man out of his Earlsdon home as a three-day stand-off continues.

West Midlands Police have confirmed that the effort to bring the siege to a safe conclusion - for both the father and his eight-year-old son - is ongoing this afternoon.

In what is today's first update from West Midlands Police, it has been revealed that negotiations between specialist officers and the man, who is believed to be armed, are continuing.

Until the situation is safely resolved, the armed officers that have been outside the address for 72 hours will remain there the force says.

This means that the lives of those who live nearby, as well as businesses and Earlsdon Primary School will continue to be hit.

Chief Superintendent Pete Henrick, Coventry Commander, said: “We apologise for the continued disruption to everyone within the cordon surrounding Earlsdon Avenue North, but our priority remains the safety of those involved.

“Your patience is appreciated and we will continue to update you as the situation develops.”

West Midlands Police said, in the statement, that officers are continuing to visit each address within the outer cordon to update residents and offer support and reassurance, as well as answering any questions they may have.

It says that those who live within the cordoned off area have been advised how to contact police to leave or access their homes.

The library at the junction of Earlsdon Avenue North and Albany Road remains open and officers remain there to offer support to residents.

Earlsdon Primary School was told to close for the second day running as the negotiations continue.

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What legal right do the police have to bar people from entering their own homes regardless of whether they consider it to be safe or not?

I suspect that the police would claim that they are acting as they are because there is a danger to the public due to an armed man. Whether that would hold water in a court of law or not is rather a moot point.

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Police reassure residents in Earlsdon as stand-off enters fourth day



A police stand-off involving a 41-year-old man in Earlsdon has now stretched into its fourth day.

Police say the man has 'barricaded' himself inside his ground floor flat at a property in Earlsdon Avenue North and that he is believed to be armed.

Armed police and negotiators are outside the property and are continuing to speak to the man to try and coax him out and bring the situation to a safe end.

Coventry Commander, Chief Superintendent Pete Henrick said: "We apologise for the continued disruption to everyone within the cordon surrounding Earlsdon Avenue North, but our priority remains the safety of those involved.

"Your patience is appreciated and we will continue to update you as the situation develops."

Officers are visiting each address within the outer cordon to update residents and offer support and advice and residents in the inner cordon have been advised on how to contact police if they want to leave their homes.

The incident has had an impact on Earlsdon Primary School and businesses which have been forced to close again today.

Earlsdon Primary has switched to online learning as a result of the stand-off.

In a statement on their Facebook page, Taylors Butchers posted: "The situation is still ongoing outside our shop so unfortunately we are unable to open again for a second day.

"We have decided to try to do some deliveries today to our regular customers.

"As we are going to try to do as many as we can we won’t be doing big orders, it’ll be what you need to get through the week or weekend as this could go on all week.

"Also we can’t give a time when we can get there so if you want a delivery it’ll be to customers who will be in all day to accept the delivery.

"Thanks for your understanding."

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Armed police force entry to flat to end Coventry stand-off



Armed police have forced their way into a flat to end a stand-off which lasted five days.

A 41-year-old man had barricaded himself in the building in Coventry with an eight-year-old boy and refused to leave since Sunday.

Firearms officers moved into the flat at about 20:30 GMT and detained the man, police said.

The boy is believed to be physically unharmed and is being cared for by family members, they added.

An eyewitness told the BBC they heard "a lot of bangs" and ran outside to "see the armed police going through the window".

The woman, who did not want to be identified, added: "A lot of the neighbours started coughing because there was tear gas which had been released as well."

The man has been taken into custody and will be assessed by mental health professionals.

Supt Ronan Tyrer said the situation "became untenable" and they decided to act for the boy's safety.

"At all times, we had to balance the risk to the boy being kept in the house, with the risk that he could be harmed if we did enter the house," he added.

West Midlands Police had cordoned off the area since the weekend after being called there for a welfare check and the force said it believed there were weapons in the ground-floor property.

Roads, businesses and a school have been closed all week. Some residents living near the scene in Earlsdon Avenue North said they could not leave their homes without police escort.