Armed stand-off at bank in town

by Mr007 June 2nd 2011, 5:31 pm

Armed stand-off at bank in town

A man is staging a stand-off with armed police at a bank in Hertfordshire after threatening staff.

Police were called to the Co-op Bank in Market Street, Watford, after reports a man had entered the branch.

Officers have cordoned off a large area of the centre of the town and redirected traffic away from the area, a police spokeswoman said.

"Specialist teams including firearms officers are in attendance at the scene," she said.

A cordon has been put in place around the bank for public safety reasons, the spokeswoman said.

The incident began at about 1020 BST. Early reports suggested the man had a bomb strapped to his leg, but this has not been confirmed by police.
'No risk'

She added: "We have now been able to establish that this individual is on his own and no members of the public are at direct risk.

"Clearly, our objective is to resolve this situation as peaceably as possible and thank the public locally for their co-operation and understanding is a fast moving and complex situation.

"Can we ask members of the public to continue their cooperation with officers and listen to any instructions for their own safety."

A local news agency is reporting that all staff have left the bank.

James Glisson, who was in a nearby mobile phone shop, said he had seen "military-looking" police officers and dogs passing by, but he could not see if any staff were still inside the bank.

Another eyewitness close to the scene told the BBC that police were using megaphones to speak to the people inside the bank.

He said that police officers nearby said it may be "a robbery that had gone wrong".

The spokeswoman said: "We fully understand people will concerned by what is happened but would ask members of the public not to call the police."

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