An armed siege at a Colchester flat has ended peacefully after a five-hour stand-off.

The siege began when police received reports of a man armed with a gun in Meadowbrook Court, off Brook Street, shortly after 1pm on Monday.

Heather Watts, Essex Police spokeswoman, said: "There with reports that there was a man on the premises with a weapon. He was on his own in the flat and we were not aware that any shots were fired."

She said the man had not made any demands.

Police evacuated nearby residents from the immediate area and cordoned off the whole of Brook Street just before 4pm "for public safety".

The road closure caused traffic chaos throughout the town and disruption to residents trying to return home during the rush hour. It was reopened shortly after 6pm.

Specialist firearms officers wearing bullet-proof jackets surrounded the first floor flat while trained negotiators talked to the man on the telephone.

During the five-hour stand-off, police with guns slung across their chests watched the flat and kept residents away from the open first floor window.

A man was brought out of the premises by police shortly before 6pm and driven away in a police van. It is understood a gun was recovered from the scene.

A 27-year-old man was yesterday (Tuesday) questioned and then released on bail pending further inquiries by police.

Drama -- police at the scene.

Picture: STEVE ARGENT

Residents caught up in stand-off

Residents enjoying the sunshine on Monday afternoon suddenly found themselves caught up in a gun-siege drama.

The people of Brooklands watched the tense stand-off as children continued to play nearby.

Teresa Clark, 27, said: "I was worried about the kids. I don't think I will be letting my kids out as much from now on."

Steve Baron, 33, said: "I have just come back from work and the police would not let me get up Brook Street. It's caused absolute chaos.

"My missus had to go to work at 5pm and we tried to come in at the top end of Brook Street and were turned away but they didn't tell us you couldn't get in at the bottom either."

Charlotte Reeve, 12, said she was worried by the siege.

"I was scared, I didn't know what to do. My mum had to come and get me from school. We were worried about our friends -- we always play up and down this road because there is nowhere else for us to play."

Kevin Dagley, 35, went round to his friend Paul Warren's house -- which overlooks the besieged flat -- to get a better view.

Mr Warren, 35, said: "There were painters doing the Meadowbank archway and it sounded like they dropped the cans a couple of times at about 1pm."

"It sounded like cans but then we were told it could be an air rifle."

Mr Dagley said: "We've had a few police cars here before but nothing like this has ever happened."

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.