Southwell LIVE: Armed police descend on UK town as schools plunged into lockdown
Pictures from the scene show several streets in the area cordoned off.
Armed police swarmed a UK town on Friday afternoon. A large police presence was reported in Southwell, Nottinghamshire, shortly after 1pm. A large cordon was put in place by police, closing off several streets in the centre.
Four schools were also plunged into a lockdown for an hour as a precautionary measure in the midst of the incident, the CEO of the trust running the schools said. Police said there is no wider risk to the public, NottinghamshireLive reports.
Are you at the scene or have any pictures? If so, please contact us: lauran.otoole@reachplc.com
THIS LIVE BLOG IS NOW CLOSED
Are you at the scene?
Are you at the scene or have any pictures? If so, please contact us: lauran.otoole@reachplc.com
Traffic remains calms despite police cordon
Despite the cordon closing off a large area of the town centre traffic appears to be calm.
More armed officers arrive
More armed officers have arrived on Queen Street amid ongoing reports of a standoff with a man on a roof. Firefighters have reportedly installed floodlights in preparation for nightfall.
Residents warned 'to stay inside'
Residents and local business owners have reportedly been told to stay inside as officers deal with the incident.
Both marked and unmarked police cars could be seen scattered along the high street.
Video shows armed police swarming Southwell
The following video shows armed police swarming Southwell
Southwell: Armed police on scene as schools locked down
Good afternoon
Good afternoon. My name is Lauran O'Toole and I will be bringing you the latest on this breaking news incident.
Where is the police cordon?
NottinghamshireLive reporter Louis Dargavel-Corbett, who is at the scene, said: "The cordon stretches from the junction of King's Street and Westgate.
"Then from the junction of Queen Street and the Ropewalk, with at least two marked police vehicles at each end of the cordon."
School boss explains lockdown
Matthew Parris, CEO of the trust that runs the schools that went into lockdown, has explained what happened as they responded to the police incident.
He said: "We brought the children in at all four schools at that point - that was as a procutionary measure whilst I contacted police to find out what was going on.
"Having had reassurances from police on the nature of the incident, we were able to have the children return to their lessons within the space of an hour.
"Our first priority is the safety and wellbeing of children - as soon as we knew it was perfectly safe, they returned to their lessons and the parents were made aware."
Four schools locked down
Four schools went into lockdown for an hour after police were called, according to the CEO of the trust that runs them.
Matthew Parris confirmed that Lowe's Wong Infant School, Lowe's Wong Junior School, The Minister School and the Holy Trinity Church of England Infant School were all locked down.
They have now returned to normal.
Where is Southwell?
Southwell is a minster and market town, and a civil parish, in the district of Newark and Sherwood, in Nottinghamshire.
Two schools 'on lockdown'
According the NottinghamshireLive, there have been reports of two local schools going into lockdown while police deal with the concern for safety report.
'No risk to the public'
Nottinghamshire Police said: "This is an isolated incident with no wider risk to the public."
Street closure in place
Queen Street remains closed while officers deal with a concern for safety report, Nottinghamshire Police said.
Latest update from police
A Nottinghamshire Police spokesperson said: "Officers are currently in attendance at Queen Street, Southwell, following a concern for safety report at 11.52am today (16 January).
"The street remains closed as officers deal with the incident. This is an isolated incident with no wider risk to the public."
Good afternoon
Good afternoon and welcome to our live blog covering the incident in Southwell. Stay tuned for all the latest updates
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