Man arrested after armed stand-off on Leeds caravan site

A man has been arrested following an armed stand-off at a caravan park in Leeds lasting almost 24 hours.

West Yorkshire Police detained the 56-year-old on Monday afternoon after the incident at St Helena's Caravan Park in Bramhope, near Leeds Bradford Airport.

Officers were initially called at around 2pm on Saturday, following what they said was "a domestic-related malicious communications offence".

Enquiries over the next 24 hours led them to the caravan park.

A force spokesman said that when they arrived at the site, a man produced what appeared to be a firearm and the officers withdrew.

Homes were evacuated as firearms officers and negotiators surrounded a caravan.

Pictures from the scene showed several emergency service vehicles, including fire engines and ambulances, in attendance.

And images from the Flight Radar service showed an emergency aeroplane circling the site for several hours.

The relative of one couple who live on the site told ITV News: "Police knocked on their door and told them 'You need to get out of your house'. They cleared a 200m radius."

Some residents left the site to stay with relatives. Others remained on site and spent the night in a conservatory and site office. One local supermarket is understood to have offered to send supplies to those who were forced to leave their homes.

But police said the incident was brought to a safe conclusion at 12.42pm on Monday.

Chief Insp Pete Hall, who heads neighbourhood policing for Leeds, said: "We would like to thank the residents of the park and anyone else affected for their patience while we worked to bring this incident to a safe conclusion."