ARMED police surrounded a house in Newport yesterday during a six-hour stand off with a gunman.

Officers were callled to an address on Chepstow Road, Maindee at 11.20am yesterday morning following reports a man that was wanted in connection with a Gwent police investigation had been seen in the area.

Around 20 officers, including the armed response unit and police dog handlers cordoned off part of the road from Harrow Road and Cedar Road.

Twelve police vehicles and officers armed with machine guns surrounded the house, and police dog handlers went into the building around 1.30pm.

Officers with a battering ram and crow bar followed an hour later, while police marksmen kept guns trained on the door.

The man was taken out of the house at 5.25pm in handcuffs, flanked by two officers and put into the back of a police van.

Earlier in the day, Gwent Police confirmed the man was armed but no gun was recovered from the scene.

Officers continued to search the house last night.

Dozens of people gathered around the cordon to watch the drama unfold throughout the afternoon.

An eye witnesses said that during the incident the man had got into the attic of an adjouning property and cut a hole in the roof.

Neighbour Muntaza Hussain, whose son owns the adjoining house, confirmed there is now a large hole in the roof.

He said work is currently being carried out to the house and that it was lucky no one was living in the house at the time.

Mr Hussain, who lives two doors away from the seiged house, was stuck at home all day.

He had to arrange for someone to pick up his children from Maindee Primary School and St Julian’s High School and for them to be looked after elsewhere until the road was reopened.

Other neighbours said the house is made up of four flats and that they had not seen the man who was brought out of the house in the area before.

Residents living inside the cordon were not allowed into their homes during the incident and diversions were in place directing traffic away from the scene.

Chepstow Road was re-opened around 6pm last night and residents were allowed to return to their houses.

No one was injured during the siege.

BLOB A force spokesman said a 23-year-old from Nottingham was arrested on suspicion of burglary and last night was being questioned by police.