Emergency services were locked in talks with a man on the roof of downtown Oldham for at least seven hours today. Police and firefighters were called to Yorkshire Street at around 6.30am.
Witnesses said the man in distress threw tiles at police. He was escorted safely shortly after 1:30 p.m., after seven hours of negotiations, before being assessed by paramedics on the spot.
Residents reacted with shock and anxiety after much of Yorkshire Street was cut off. Since then, the street has been completely open to cars and pedestrians. “A man on the roof? That’s really bad, that’s it. It’s disturbing,” said a local business owner after he couldn’t get into his store because of the scene.
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Other residents told Manchester Evening New is that the man was a “local boy” who has a history of substance abuse. Russell Stansfield, who works for Oldham Street Angels, said they were aware of the man’s identity and that he was not homeless but had a troubled drug history.
Jasmine lives in an apartment nearby with her partner. She told MEN that her partner saw the scene this morning when he left for work around 7 a.m. – when he reportedly threw slate from the roof at police.
There were three fire engines on Yorkshire Street
Robbie’s wife owns the Old Bank Pub, which was inside the cordon. He said there was a small roof terrace at the back of the pub, where he had seen the man since about 5.30am.
“He was knocking [one man’s] a window asking him to open the window and let him in, “he said. The man was later seen eating and drinking through a window. Robbie confirmed that the man was throwing slate off the roof.
The cordon blocked much of the street in Yorkshire for about seven hours
There was a clear sigh of relief on the cordon as the man was seen safely on the ground, accompanied by paramedics and police.
An earlier statement from the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) said: “At around 6.30am on Sunday, May 8, firefighters were called in for an incident affecting the welfare of a man on Bow Street, Oldham . Fire trucks from Oldham, Haywood, Chaderton, Mosley and Ashton stations, as well as an Oldham hydraulic platform and an Ashton Technical Rescue Unit, quickly arrived at the scene. “
Firefighters and police confirmed that the man was rescued safely around 1:30 p.m. and was assessed by paramedics on the spot.
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