UPDATE....Sticklepath incident - man aged 27 arrested

POLICE have arrested a 27-year-old man on suspicion of false imprisonment after an armed response team was called to a property in Bickington Road, Sticklepath, today (Tuesday). The man is understood to have given himself up after police sent in negotiat

POLICE have arrested a 27-year-old man on suspicion of false imprisonment after an armed response team was called to a property in the Sticklepath area of Barnstaple today (Tuesday).

The man is understood to have given himself up after police sent in negotiators.

A police spokesman said the incident began in Pilton Street when a 25-year-old woman called the police to report a domestic incident at around 7.30am. The woman alleged that she had been assaulted and locked in a cupboard by her partner, who had left the house and taken their three young children.

Police conducted a search of the area and the man was eventually found to be inside a property in Bickington Road, Sticklepath. At 9.15 am, a large contingent of police assembled outside the house, the home of another family member.

The use of Tasers was authorised, but the man came out peacefully, the police spokesman said.

He said: "After several hours, the man gave himself up and he was arrested with no harm to him or his family.

"He has been arrested on suspicion of false imprisonment and common assault and is in custody in Barnstaple police station."