Man arrested after hours-long rooftop standoff in Chorley as houses evacuated and fires set

A man is in custody after a six-hour standoff with police on the roof of a house in Chorley that saw fires set, objects thrown at officers, and nearby homes evacuated.

Lancashire Police said they were called to Bolton Road at around 9.30am on Saturday (May 24) after reports that a man had climbed onto the roof of a residential property and was refusing to come down.

The man began throwing objects from the roof at officers and setting small fires. Emergency services, including the fire service and the North West Ambulance Service, attended the scene. A number of nearby houses were evacuated and pedestrians and drivers were turned away.

What did witnesses say?

One resident told the Manchester Evening News: "I heard shouting from around 9.15am. He had gone up on the scaffolding at a house nearby and the police came down straight away."

They added: "He did hit a firefighter on the arms with a brick, and they were dealt with by paramedics. He had ripped up a lot of the tiles and damaged the chimneys on a few houses."

The resident said the man came down at around 4pm and was arrested. "The damage to the houses is bad. The road is strewn with tiles."

What damage was caused?

Lancashire Police said a man suffered an arm injury as a result of falling debris. "Substantial damage" was caused to several houses and parked vehicles.

Who was arrested?

A 42-year-old man from Adlington was arrested at 4pm on suspicion of assault, assault on an emergency worker, arson with intent to endanger life and criminal damage. He remains in custody.