A MAN involved in a stand-off with police has been on the roof of a house in Waddon for more than seven hours.
Police have been trying to talk Joe Barnett down from the rooftop in Barrow Road since around 10.30am, when officers were called to reports of a burglary at the address.
When they arrived, Mr Barnett ran upstairs and somehow managed to kick a hole in the roof before climbing outside.
The former Haling Manor High School pupil then started making threats and threw tiles at the police.
A large crowd gathered outside the house, where Mr Barnett's girlfriend is thought to live, as police cordoned off the area and called in a negotiator. London Ambulance Service and the fire brigade were also sent to the scene.
Mr Barnett hurled dozens of tiles from the roof, damaging a police car. Friends told the Advertiser he was just "looking for attention" and would eventually come down.
Attempts to end the stand-off have so far failed, though the situation became calmer at around 4pm when Mr Barnett was provided with a can of coke and a cigarette. He spent the next hour or so being supplied cigarettes via a makeshift hoist.
However, at around 5.30pm, he became agitated and once more started to throw tiles from the roof. He was still on the roof as of 6pm.
According to his Facebook page, Mr Barnett has recently spent time in prison. His grandmother told the Advertiser that he had become upset because of the lack of support he had received during his time inside.
Unconfirmed reports from several witnesses stated that he is currently out on licence and panicked when the police arrived.
As well as hurling obscenities, he was heard to shout that he "might as well stay up here as I'm going back inside anyway".
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."
