A REVIEW is underway into how a man managed to disappear from the top of a roof after police left the scene following hours of negotiations in a failed bid to talk him down.

Police were called to the address in Gainsford Road, Southampton, at around 11.20am yesterday after a 39-year-old man climbed onto the roof of the house.

After spending most of the day trying to talk him down a decision was taken to withdraw police from the scene as it was felt that the high level police and emergency service presence was not helping efforts to get the man to come down.

Police said they were also concerned that the man could become dehydrated or suffer heatstroke.

More details today emerged from Hampshire police which included the fact a decision was taken overnight to withdraw any permanent police presence.

During a check on the property around 2am police discovered that the man had come down from the roof but could not be found.

Superintendent Ben Snuggs said: "The decision to withdraw officers was made on the basis of the information available at the time. This was undertaken by considering a range of factors which included the man's safety, the safety of those surrounding him, the likelihood of securing him safely and the ongoing impact on the local community.

"There were various stages of response that were proportionate to the danger to those involved in the situation.

"Police maintained an active review of the situation throughout the night and ensured that other people involved in the incident who originally called for police were kept safe and updated.

"We understand there are questions around the way this incident was handled. As with all incidents of this nature and scale, we will review how it was dealt with, look at our operational practice and explore whether or not there is anything we could have done differently.

"I would like to thank the public for their help and patience during yesterday's incident and reassure them that at no stage did we believe this man posed a risk to the wider public."

Police confirmed earlier today that the man had been found and arrested this afternoon in connection with the incident.

To see how the drama unfolded click here>>>