Armed police stand off in Sandown.

A dramatic emergency response deployment, including armed police, resulted in the arrest of a 30-year-old man on Wednesday (April 21) for affray and criminal damage. A number of emergency service vehicles responded to the incident in Avenue Road, Sandown, responding to a concern for welfare call to the police about a man at a residential address in the area. At the height of the incident there were around 14 emergency vehicles in attendance.

The male in question refused to come out and made threats towards the police if they tried to force entry to the property. As the scene escalated, armed officers from the mainland travelled to the scene to provide support and riot shields were used.

The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue service was deployed with extinguishers immediately connected to hydrants as a small fire was reported to be alight in the premises. After the extinguishers had been set up, a member of the Incident Command Unit and the fire duty officer were deployed from Newport Fire Station.
During the incident, the windscreen of a police vehicle was smashed, leading to the closure of Avenue Road. An area around the address was evacuated in the interest of public safety. At least seven armed officers were present at the scene before the decision was made to force entry to the premises.

The man was detained by officers and placed in handcuffs for the safety of all involved. He was then escorted to a waiting police van where he was checked for injury before being taken to Newport Police Station.