POLICE shot a man with a baton round and Taser gun following a three-hour siege in the north of Plymouth.

Wearing protective gear and gas masks, armed officers surrounded a large five-bedroom house in Delgany Drive, off Tavistock Road, yesterday afternoon.

A stretch of the A386 between Powisland Drive and Derriford roundabout was closed to traffic shortly after midday after dozens of officers – including those from Devon and Cornwall Constabulary’s firearms unit – swooped on the address.

The large police contingent had gathered at a nearby location in Derriford in the hours before the operation, studying last-minute intelligence from a number of sources including the force helicopter which hovered over the area during the morning.

Supt Andy Bickley, who headed the operation, said officers began their investigation of “serious offences against the person”, following a report which came into the control room in the early hours of yesterday morning.

As cars were diverted around the cordon, armed police took up positions while trained negotiators made contact with the occupant of the house, believed to once belong to lottery winner Pete Kyle.

In addition, police dogs and their handlers were posted at different locations while a broad cordon was set up.

Despite queues of traffic being diverted, police had to issue further pleas for motorists to avoid the area due to a growing gridlock as the hours ticked by.

Supt Bickley confirmed during the siege a number of commercial fireworks were set off into the roof space of the property by the occupant.

The fireworks, which had been set off by a blowtorch, generated a large amount of noise and smoke which billowed from the building, which has its own fully-fitted bar, jacuzzi, steam room hot tub and indoor swimming pool.

Green watch commander Dave Marsh, from Crownhill fire station, said they were called by officers and asked to stand by after the fireworks were set off.

He confirmed his crews also carried out an inspection of the premises after it was “made safe” by police.

At one stage an aerial platform appliance was called to the scene.

Supt Bickley said the man acted “irrationally” throughout the incident and displayed “very unpredictable behaviour”.

Evidence of this was his repeated visits to the roof of the property, which he climbed onto and at one stage began to damage, taking tiles from the roof and smashing them against his own head.

Supt Bickley confirmed reports from other sources which said the siege finally ended after the suspect finally jumped from the roof of the building.

While police have confirmed a man was both Tasered and struck by a baton round, they would not comment where the man was standing when he was shot.

A man – believed to have initially been arrested on suspicion of unlawful imprisonment – was later taken to Derriford Hospital by paramedics from the South West Ambulance Service.

He is being kept under police guard while at the hospital where he is being treated for injuries “consistent with jumping off the roof of a house”.

As the road was reopened at around 4.35pm yesterday, specialist officers carried out a search of the property.

They are expected to return to the premises today to continue their work. It is understood detectives are still waiting to interview the arrested man.

Supt Bickley said the incident would be referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission as a matter of routine.

He said: “This was a multi-agency operation, involving Plymouth police, South West Ambulance Service, Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service and Plymouth City Council.

“I appreciate the patience shown by the public during this incident and want them to know the disruption caused was a constant consideration which we had to balance with the public’s safety, as well as the safety of the officers and the suspect.

”We planned the operation to minimise the disruption in the morning, but due to factors outside of our control we were unable to conclude the operation by the afternoon rush hour.”

Stephen Hawken, 45, of Delgany Drive, Derriford, was arrested yesterday on suspicion of unlawful imprisonment.

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