Three Day Northolt Stand Off Ends

Police storm Wood End Lane property and detain man

The scene at Wood End Lane Northolt

The three day stand-off in Northolt has been brought to a safe conclusion.

At approximately 8.10pm on this Sunday (23 October) specialist officers from the Territorial Support Group (TSG) forced access to the address and a 46-year-old man has been arrested.

He has been arrested on suspicion of cultivation of cannabis, affray and offences under the explosives act and taken to a west London police station.

The man had barricaded himself into a property on Wood End Lane with what police described as ‘hazardous items' which are believed to have included a quantity of petrol. London Fire Brigade were at the scene all through the incident to provide support for the TSG. Neighbours also reported that there were four Rottweiler dogs at the address.

A full search is now taking place of the address to ensure that the area is safe so local residents can return to their homes as quickly as possible. The police cordons have now been removed. Over 80 residents had been evacuated from their homes. The local authority are now contacting the residents who were re-housed to inform them it is safe to return home.

The investigation will be carried out by Ealing CID.

Chief Superintendent Paul Martin, in charge of policing in Ealing, said, “I am really pleased that this incident has now ended, and importantly ended without anyone coming to harm. Our key priority throughout this was to get the man out of the address safely as we had growing concerns about his well-being and believed him to be in crisis.

“After attempts to negotiate over a number of days did not work we used specialist officers to work out how we could gain entry to the address as safely as we could. They did that this evening.

There is no suggestion that this incident is terrorist related, nor is it linked to any other ongoing investigation or operation.

Leader of Ealing Council, Julian Bell said,“I'm pleased and relieved that the police have been able to bring the incident in Northolt to a peaceful and safe conclusion. I would like to thank Northolt residents for their patience throughout this difficult time. I hope the area can be returned to normal as quickly as possible so that people can return home and get back to their usual routines. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all those officers, from all the emergency services and the council, who have worked around the clock throughout the weekend dealing with this incident.”

October 24, 2016