A GUNMAN triggered an armed siege after threatening to kill someone.

Armed police swooped after the man’s wife and baby fled their flat in Preston Road, Weymouth.

The flat was the focus of a three-hour siege as negotiators were brought in to persuade the man to give himself up.

The siege caused traffic chaos in Weymouth as police were forced to close a section of Preston Road while they tried to coax the man out of the flat.

As well as armed police and local officers, the force helicopter and tracker dogs were brought in as back-up after the woman made a 999 call just after 1pm on Saturday to say her husband was armed and was making threats to kill.

No one was injured but ambulance paramedics were on standby during the siege.

A man was later arrested and a shotgun and an air rifle were seized from the flat, police said.

Witnesses who watched events unfold told of the drama as armed police swooped on Preston and aimed their weapons at the property.

Louy Ghazal, who lives close to the siege flat, said: “I had just got back from Manchester and when I drove towards the road I saw lots of police cars and the whole road was cordoned off.

“I had to go round through my neighbours’ back gardens and through the hedge just to get in the house.

“I saw the police surround the house and then go in and bring a man out with a yellow T-shirt and arrest him.

“I was told it was a man in there with two guns who might have had a hostage in there.”

Preston Road resident Dan Flewitt, 27, was inside his house further up the road and watched the siege take place.

He said: “Nobody knew what was going on because there were armed police all around the house.

“They were stood out there for some time and then they brought someone out and arrested a man.

“I was busy taking pictures so I don’t know what happened to him then.”

Sandy Evans, of Wyke Oliver Road, who was standing outside the cordon said: “I can’t believe something like this would happen on this road.

“It’s always so nice and now there’s talk of a man holding someone hostage with a gun.”

A resident of Orchard Drive, which backs on to the property at the focus of the siege, said he was told to stay inside his house by police.

The resident, who asked not to be named, said: “I was told to go inside as I was in the line of fire.

“I could see a policeman with his rifle aimed at a window and he was there for a long time. I saw them take away a guy in a yellow T-shirt and put him in the back of a van.”

Ian Liddell, who also lives on Orchard Drive, said: “I’m not quite sure what it was about but I think it may have been a domestic incident.

“The police presence was fairly substantial. It’s usually very quiet down here, so it’s certainly quite unusual.

“A policeman then knocked on our door and said it was all over, and that a chap had been taken into custody.

“I think the people that live in the house have lived there about a year.”

Police said the man was eventually persuaded to come out of the flat at 4.20pm and the road was reopened by 5pm. During a search, police seized a shotgun and an air rifle.

Officers later conducted high visibility patrols ‘to offer public reassurance.’ A Dorset Police spokesman said: “Police were called to a flat in Preston area of Weymouth on Saturday after reports of a vulnerable man in possession of a firearm.

“To ensure the safety of the public and the man, armed police officers attended the property.

“A specialist police negotiator spoke to a man who was the only occupant of the flat. His wife had left the property with their baby just after the police were called.

“To ensure public safety, part of Preston Road was closed between Wyke Oliver Road and Melstock Avenue while specialist officers dealt with the incident.”

Police thanked motorists who were caught up in the congestion for their patience.

A 29-year-old man is helping police with inquiries after being arrested on suspicion of making threats to kill.