A man was arrested after a tense and dramatic armed siege in Huddersfield.

Dozens of police - many of them heavily-armed - were involved in the four-hour stand-off in Lowerhouses this afternoon.

And they kept dozens of people away from their homes after getting reports a man had a gun and an explosive device inside a house.

The drama eventually ended shortly after 5pm when police confirmed a man had been arrested.

The incident at Hall Cross Grove in Huddersfield had been running since 1.30pm.

Police cordons had sealed off a large area of the Lowerhouses housing estate.

Chief Insp Jonathan Blackwell, who had been in charge of the delicate operation, confirmed the safe conclusion.

He said: ‘‘At 5.08pm the 31-year-old man left the property after officers successfully negotiated his surrender.

“The man was then arrested by police on suspicion of firearms offences and section 136 of the Mental Health Act.

“Officers were called to the property on Hall Cross Grove at 1.36pm this afternoon following concerns for a man’s safety.

“At that stage the man had made threats to harm himself and claimed to be in possession of a firearm and explosive devices.

“‘The safety of the public is our top priority and it was necessary to close some roads in the area while the incident was ongoing.

“‘We are now pleased to have resolved this incident without any harm coming to anyone and I would like to thank local residents for their patience and support while we worked to bring this situation to a peaceful and safe resolution”.

At this stage no explosive devices or firearms have been recovered from the property but police teams are carrying out a detailed search of the house.

The tense stand-off began on a bright sunny afternoon when police vehicles arrived in large numbers in Hall Cross Road.

Police incident in Hall Cross Road, Lowerhouses, Huddersfield.

Police erected cordons in Hall Cross Road and Longley Road and within minutes, a number of armed officers wearing full body armour had arrived on the scene.

The cordon was repeatedly moved back as more officers arrived.

Some residents were allowed to return to their homes inside the cordon but others had to stay behind the police lines.

The drama centred on Hall Cross Grove, a small cul-de-sac, and officers were stationed all around the house.

One resident who lives just yards from the house at the centre of the siege said: “It’s very surreal”.

Kieran Carter, of Hall Cross Road, said: “I was out in the back garden, which backs on to Hall Cross Grove, tidying up some rubbish when all of a sudden the police were there.

“They told me they needed to use my garden to get through to a house and told me to go inside.

“There are three of them there at the minute: one with what looks like a machine-gun, another one with a dog and the third what looks like a grenade launcher.

“There’s also a very big vehicle pulled up outside. It looks as though it is an armoured vehicle”.

“It’s all very surreal. I know the guy who lives in the house and he keeps himself to himself”.

Buses running through Lowerhouses were diverted throughout the afternoon.

The West Yorkshire Police helicopter was called in and hovered above the scene.

In unrelated investigations, police would like to speak to the people pictured in the image gallery below. The people pictured in the images may be witnesses as well as suspects. If you recognise anyone, contact police on 101 quoting the reference number on the image caption.