Siege continues into second night as armed police negotiate with 'gunman'

Armed police have begun a second night of talks with a pensioner who is refusing to leave a house and is thought to have a gun.

Officers surrounded the house in Harbour Road, Pagham, West Sussex, after receiving reports that the 72-year-old was armed and using threatening behaviour on Sunday at around 4.10pm.

Sussex police Chief Superintendent Neil Honnor said the stand-off in the quiet seafront village may be a "little disconcerting and frustrating" for the local residents.

Police have cordoned off the property and closed the road. Emergency services remained on stand-by.

A woman who was known to the man had also been in the house, but she left soon after police arrived. She is safe and well. There have been no reports of injuries.

Mr Honnor said: "I appreciate this must be a little disconcerting and frustrating for local residents having a continued large police presence outside their homes.

"The safety of the local community is paramount and we are doing all we can to resolve this ongoing incident in a controlled way.

"The road closure and cordons remain in place but residents are still free to come and go as and when they need to with police support.

"We would once again like to thank the local community for their patience and understanding."

Harbour Road sits on a dirt track between the seafront and a nature reserve.

Landscape gardener Trevor Hawkins, 54, said he could see four police officers from his home which has been taped off as part of the cordon.

He said: "Down this street, on the whole, everybody is quite friendly and says good morning so for something like this to happen is totally out of the ordinary."

He said that police are "all out at the nature reserve at the back so it is quite a big thing".