Armed officers in city flat siege

Kevin Quirke's mother has appealed to him to end the siege

Police marksmen have surrounded a flat in Sheffield where a man who is believed to be armed barricaded himself in two days ago.

The siege in Overend Road, Gleadless, began on Sunday evening when officers went to arrest Kevin Quirke, 49.

Since then, police say a weapon thought to be a shotgun has been fired at officers, but nobody has been hurt.

Neighbouring homes have been evacuated as police negotiators attempt to bring the siege to an end.

For the past two days the BBC has observed a news blackout on the incident requested by South Yorkshire Police as negotiations continued.

Safety cordon

Mr Quirke's two children, a son aged 18 and a 13-year-old daughter, were in the property until Monday evening when they left unharmed.

Nobody else was in the property, South Yorkshire Police confirmed.

On BBC News Mr Quirke's mother Joan, who lives nearby, said: "Kevin, come out. Your mother will come with you to the police station, you have nothing to fear."

People who have been forced out of their homes during the incident were being looked after at an emergency reception centre in a local church.

Mr Quirke was believed to be holed up in a bedroom

Police have been liaising with members of the local community to ensure a safety cordon established around the area was maintained.

Chief Constable Meredydd Hughes said: "We have had shots fired from the premises at police officers and indeed a shot fired inside the premises at police officers.

"No one has been injured. No one has been killed.

"We believe the man has some type of shotgun. That's the evidence that we have, and therefore we have based the protection of the public around the range and the likely ammunition that weapon might have."

Police officers, firefighters, ambulance crews and council staff have all been on standby during the incident.