A MAN staged a dramatic 15-hour rooftop sit-in on a block of flats in Southampton.

Police shut a city road for more than ten hours as specialist negotiators tried to persuade the man to come down from the top of the 40ft building.

As darkness fell last night he had refused all offers and was still on the roof where he had already been for more than 14 hours in baking hot sunshine without food or water.

Emergency services lifted the cordon around Gainsford Road in Bitterne at 8.30pm and withdrew from the road in the hope that the man, who has not been identified, would come down of his own accord.

But this morning, the drama appeared to have come to an end with no sign of a police presence in the residential road. It is thought he came down of his own accord.

During the 10-hour lockdown, residents were escorted to and from their homes within the police cordon.

The Daily Echo understands that the man, who was wearing an orange T-shirt, climbed to the top of the roof between 9am and 10am when police arrived in the road in response to reports of an incident.

Police vehicles, both marked and unmarked, closed the road, with the fire service and paramedics on standby.

Some of the police wore protective jackets and carried Taser weapons.

Meanwhile Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service deployed a cherry picker vehicle which contained a police negotiator in a bid to coax the man down.

Despite repeated pleas for him to leave the roof he refused to budge, defiantly moving to different rooftops, where he would stretch out under the searing sun, biting his nails or sinking his head into his hands.

He also pulled his T-shirt over his head in a bid to get out of the direct sunlight.

John Sedan, 70, who lives several doors down from the block and within the police cordon, witnessed the drama unfold.

He said: “At first I did not realise how serious it was. Then I came out of my house and saw the chap up there and police were around.

“I thought I was imagining it at first with all this police activity.

“He was slouched over and he was very subdued and relaxed and after a while he got restless. “He looked like he was sleeping when they finally got a rescue crane up. He’s been in the sun all day and must be absolutely barbecued.”

The Daily Echo understands that the man was wanted by police, although the force would not confirm what for.

With night drawing in, police decided that their tactics were no longer working.

Chief Inspector Mick Buckle told the Daily Echo: “We have to protect his life at the moment. He may become unwell.

“My concern is that is we have no means of bringing him down without his cooperation. If we can’t assist him down and our presence is preventing that, we need to move our resources out and hope he comes down.”

Police officers left the scene at around 1am.