POLICE negotiators are trying to talk down a man from a roof of a house in Waddon.
Officers were called to reports of a burglary at the address in Barrow Road at 10.30am this morning (Friday).
When they arrived, a man climbed out on to the roof and started throwing tiles and hurling obscenities at them.
The man is understood to be Joe Barnett, whose sister told the Advertiser that he lives at the house.
"He's not going to come down - there are too many tiles up there," a friend said.
5pm update: Mr Barnett remains on the roof but the situation has calmed. He is no longer throwing things. He has been provided with a can of coke and several cigarettes - via a makeshift hoist - by people in the crowd.
5.30pm: After 30 minutes of calm Mr Barnett starts to throw tiles from the roof again.
The road has been cordoned off and a large crowd of people has gathered outside.
Mr Barnett, who is topless and wearing shorts, threw tiles at officers below.
It is believed the former Haling Manor High School pupil accessed the roof by running upstairs and kicking a hole through it.
A police car has been covered by tiles thrown from the building.
A friend of Mr Barnett told the Advertiser: "He's just doing it for attention. If they [the police] let us talk to him, we would have him down in a few minutes, but they won't."
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: "Police were called to reports of a burglary in Barrow Road this morning at 10.30am.
"On seeing police, the man climbed on to the roof where he started making threats and throwing tiles.
"The road was closed and police negotiators were called and are in the process of talking him down."
An eyewitness reported seeing police "chase" the man on to the roof.
"It's been going on for three hours," she said.
"The police are trying to coax him down. He's stripping all the roof tiles off the roof and throwing them at the police officers. The police cars are damaged.
"It looks like he's got something tied around his neck to stop him falling off, it looks like an aerial or a rope."
Reporter Andrew Jameson, who is at the scene, says there are around 20 police officers outside the house. London Ambulance Service has also been called as well as the fire brigade.
He added: "The man is picking tiles off the roof and throwing them at the police waiting below with shields.
"He has thrown a tile from the roof and it's hit a car. He's getting some real distance."
Police officers with climbing apparatus arrived at the house at around 2.30pm.
