Suspect on roof leads to town centre closure

Part of a busy town centre was closed after a suspect ended up on the roof following an alleged burglary at a jewellers.

The incident is understood to have taken place at Carats in Buttermarket, Ipswich, at 04:35 BST on Thursday.

Police said a male suspect climbed on to the roof of the premises, where he remained for about seven hours.

Suffolk Police, the ambulance service and the fire and rescue service were at the scene in Buttermarket and Tavern Street.

It is understood emergency services spoke to the man on the roof throughout the morning.

Shops in the cordoned off area were unable to open and people were prevented from entering buildings within the zone.

Police closed Thoroughfare and Dial Lane, and a cordon was put in place in parts of Tavern Street, Princes Street and Buttermarket.

At about 13:40 it was confirmed police had "successfully resolved" the incident and the man had come down.

The cordon was removed by officers allowing for shops to reopen.

Police say the man was detained rather than arrested and has been taken to hospital for assessment.

Many shops in Ipswich caught in the cordon were unable to open.

Hotel Chocolat manager Ross Skinner said during the incident it was "incredibly frustrating" that the shop would be losing money.

"We can't open along with a lot of other retailers," he explained.

"We're just hanging around waiting to hear what's happening and if we're going to get any information as to whether or not anything's going to happen.

"At the moment we're completely unaware."

Mr Skinner said he had been in the area since 08:10 - with his shop just inside the cordon.

He had asked officers if the cordon could be moved but he was told no.

"It's just a waiting game for us. We just want to go in and get on with work," he added.

• At 04:35 an incident is understood to have taken place at Carats in Buttermarket. Emergency services attended the scene after reports a male suspect climbed on to the roof of the premises
• Shortly after, Throughfare and Dial Lane were closed with a cordon also in place on parts of Tavern Street, Princes Street and Buttermarket
• At 08:04 Suffolk Police alerted the public on social media it was in attendance in the area
• Shops in the area due to open at about 09:00 were unable to due to the cordon
• An update from the scene at about 12:30 revealed the man was still on the roof being spoken to by negotiators and the cordon remained in place
• At 13:40 it was confirmed the man had come down and the police had "successfully resolved" the incident with the cordon being removed

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