'Tiles were bouncing off police cars' - residents describe terrifying scenes during 17-hour stand-off with man on Sheffield roof

Emergency services were called to Bradley Street in Crookes on Thursday, May 21, at around 5pm to reports of concerns for the safety of a man on the roof of a small housing block.

When police officers arrived, said neighbours. the man began ripping off tiles and throwing them down.

Men charged over knifepoint robbery in South Yorkshire park

More police, firefighters and paramedics, including specialist negotiators, were scrambled to the scene and a long stand-off ensued before he eventually came down at around 10am on Friday morning.

A spokeswoman for South Yorkshire Police said on Friday afternoon that a 44-year-old man had been arrested on suspicion of criminal damage.

“The incident has now been resolved. However, officers remain at the location carrying out enquiries,” she added.

One woman in a neighbouring property told how she had been about to go out when police first arrived.

Number of people with Covid-19 in Sheffield is ‘vanishingly small’ – and the city nowhere near reached the worst case scenario

“The police parked outside our drive so I asked the officer if they were going to be long and he said he didn’t think so,” she said.

“The next minute all the tiles were flying and the officer told me ‘you’re not going anywhere’.

“He was at it all night, and I only slept for a few hours because of the noise.

“The tiles were bouncing off the police cars and the noise they made was unbelievable.”

Shielding for thousands in Sheffield will continue indefinitely

The resident said the man, who appeared to be in his 40s, was wearing a hi-vis jacket, a cap and a builder’s mask so she initially assumed he was working on the roof.

She said she heard lots of swearing and at one point the man shouted that he was ‘going to blow the roof up’.

She also told how the man had a chainsaw, which she heard him start up.

She said she had never seen him before but had heard noises coming from the block previously.

The street was cordoned off during the incident but quickly reopened once the man was down.

A window at the front of the roof had been smashed, another at the back looked to have been ripped off and a chainsaw appeard to be lodged in the roof.

There were numerous tiles missing, with shattered pieces strewn across the pavement, road, the grounds of the block and the car park of a neighbouring property.

A number of police officers and firefighters remained at the scene, where riot shields could be seen propped up against a wall beside a battering ram, though there were no obvious signs of the front door having been forced open.

One resident told how there had been a number of issues with anti-social behaviour at the block in recent weeks, including loud disturbances, but it is not known at this stage whether there is any connection with the man on the roof.

Detective Chief Inspector Martin Tate praised members of the community following the incident.

“Huge thanks to the public of Crookes who supported my negotiator team last night with offers of drinks. They even provided camp chairs for emergency services in the night.

“Also many thanks to the fire service who quickly cleared away this debris so the community could resume.”