An armed man who took dozens of children hostage at a day care centre in Texas has surrendered after 30 hours under siege by the security forces. The two-day drama ended peacefully when the gunman released his last two captives, his son and his stepson. None of the children were injured. From Washington, our correspondent, Philippa Thomas, reports:

The gunman initially took hostage five adults and more than 70 children, barricading them into a day-care centre in a wealthy suburb of Dallas.

He was quickly identified by neighbours and relatives as James Monroe Lipscomb, a man with no previous record of violence whose actions were apparently provoked by a domestic dispute - his wife, who works at the centre, had filed for divorce.

Local police were joined by Texas rangers and the FBI in setting up constant negotiations by telephone and they have since said it appears Mr Lipscomb did not go to the centre with the intention of taking hostages.

A spokesman said it was a situation he just fell into and as time went on he became more and more regretful for his actions.