By Chris Hardy and Gary Cooper

A LARGE part of Forfar was sealed off last night in a tense armed stand-off at a town- centre house.

It was brought to an end when a man left the ground- floor flat at 18 New Road and was ordered to lie on the pavement before being handcuffed by police clad in body armour and carrying shields.

A shaven-headed male, wearing a blue jumper and denim jeans, was then led to a police car and driven from the scene.

It ended a drama which lasted around two hours and could be heard from some distance as shouts were traded between a man and police negotiators.

The incident was sparked around 5pm and saw a fleet of police cars head to the property.

Officers threw a massive cordon around the area, stopping anyone moving along New Road and much of the length of St James Road.

The location, particularly around the south end of New Road, was a scene of intense police activity as specially trained firearms officers took up positions around the house.

Police hid behind a car park wall opposite the property and at the entrance of Strathmore Primary School.

Indications the incident had been peacefully resolved came shortly after 7pm when a man left the property and was instructed to kneel down by officers at the gate leading to the front door.

Once he was taken away, an ambulance called to the area and put on standby, was allowed to leave the scene.

Graham Lowe was working on the construction of a conservatory at the rear of the siege flat. “The flat is owned by my wife and I was on a scaffold when police came and asked if I had seen this guy—a tall guy with a shaven head. I said no.”

Mr Lowe said the next thing he knew the tenant, Andy Guest, had come out of the back door and said there was a man who had entered the flat and was hiding in the lobby.

“I reported this to the police and they then asked everyone to move away or stay indoors.

“It was all very quietly done. You wouldn’t have known anything was happening.”

Mr Guest, who had left the scene at the start of the incident, returned when it was concluded and was taken to police headquarters in Forfar to be interviewed.

The whole incident unfolded in front of 24-year-old Jamie Scott who lives in the flat above No 18.

“I was off ill and lying on the sofa when I saw the police go past.

“There had been some sort of incident down town and they knew he had come here.”

Mr Scott, watching from his window, said he heard the police make repeated calls for the man to give up his weapon.

“He had it in his jeans at one point. He told the police to get his mum—he kept going on and giving deadlines. He was clearly agitated. He threatened to shoot himself and said he did not want to give up his gun in case they took a pot shot at him. The police answered that he would be all right.

“He was at the front door and he went in and out on five or six occasions, shouting at the police to contact his mum and that he would only sort it out through her.

“I am from Arbroath and I recognised that he gave out the code for Arbroath.

“At one point he said he had a couple of semi-automatic pistols. I think a group of negotiating officers arrived but four police officers had been talking to him for quite a while and he had thrown his gun out on to the road.

“I don’t know if it was real or a replica. It sounded quite light when he threw it out. Police encouraged him to come out and he did.

“You don’t see something like this happening every day.”

Tayside Police said that after an incident about 4.30pm, officers traced a man to St James Road. The man, who is in his 30s, was believed to be in possession of a firearm or imitation firearm and was refusing to co-operate with police.

No one else was in the flat at the time and it was not the man’s home address.

A cordon was set up around the immediate area and specialist negotiators as well as trained firearms officers attended the scene and the incident was brought to a swift and safe conclusion.

“No one was injured as a result of the incident,” said a police spokesman.

At the height of the drama, residents feared the social work offices at Ravenswood, situated in New Road and close to the property at the centre of the drama, were involved in the incident.

The cordon threw Forfar into chaos as commuters and residents living inside the sealed-off area attempting to return home from work were turned away.

St James Road was closed at the foot of Lour Road and forced cars to swing round and find another way to their destination.

The barrier had to be opened occasionally to allow lorry drivers, who use St James Road when travelling through the town, to turn in the former St James’ House car park and head back the way they came.

Concerned parents and organisers of a martial arts class for children, due to take place at Strathmore Primary, gathered at the foot of Lour Road after they were denied access to the school during the incident.

When the drama unfolded, it came at the end of a meeting for staff at the primary.

Most were able to leave the school in their cars, but others were ordered to stay put by police and left after about a half-hour wait.

Last night, a police spokesman confirmed that a man is expected to appear at Forfar Sheriff Court today.