Flint police armed stand-off sees homes evacuated and school closed

Homes have been evacuated and a primary school closed in Flint amid a stand-off between police and an “aggressive” and “threatening” man.

Armed officers and negotiators were called to Maes Alaw in Flint at 7.11am today.

A number of streets including Albert Avenue, Maes Alaw and Ffordd Llewelyn have been taped off as a precaution with police asking residents to leave their properties.

St Mary’s Catholic Primary School has been closed by staff due to safety fears.

The school tweeted: “Due to the incident outside of school on Ffordd Llewelyn Miss Molyneux has made the decision to close the school today for the children’s safety.”

Police have been forced to widen the corden area throughout the morning as they work to resolve the incident.

However, chiefs at North Wales Police are stressing that there is “no risk” to the public.

A North Wales Police spokesman said: “Police would like to reassure residents in Flint that there is no risk to the public as they deal with an incident at an address in the town.

“Officers were called to Maes Alaw at 7.11am today following reports of concern for the safety of a man acting in an aggressive and threatening manner.”

CI Simon Barrasford added: “We have trained negotiators at the scene who are working to resolve the situation. We have evacuated neighbours and closed the road to make it easier for us to engage with the individual.

“However, I would like to stress that there is no danger to the wider public or pupils at nearby schools.

“There are no other members of the public involved in this incident.

“I would like to thank the public for their patience and understanding as we continue our efforts to bring the matter to a successful conclusion and we will continue to keep the public updated.”

Witnesses at the scene have described their shock as they woke up to a heavy armed police presence.

Police seal off Albert Avenue, Flint

One man said: “Police are right outside my house and have been told to increase the police presence. I have been told to stay inside my house.”

Another resident said: “I woke up to find police absolutely everywhere. Loads of roads are completely taped off and there are officers with guns in the street.

“They won’t tell us anything at the scene but neighbours have said that there are hostage negotiators at the scene.

“It’s quite scary to see such a heavy police response to it but I hope everyone is okay.”

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