Gun siege man found dead in flat

Kevin Quirk's mother had appealed to him to end the siege

An armed man who barricaded himself into a flat in Sheffield with his children has been found dead.

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

Since then, police said a weapon thought to be a shotgun had been fired at officers, but nobody was hurt.

Police entered the flat just after 1800 GMT and found his body. The incident has been referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission.

Mr Quirk'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 flat, South Yorkshire Police confirmed.

Chief Constable Meredydd Hughes said a firearm had been found next to Mr Quirk's body.

He said: "I have to say that I greatly regret the fact that this police operation has ended in this way.

"I believe we did everything possible to safeguard the public, to safeguard the life of the man that we were looking for and it is a huge regret to all of us that it had ended in this manner.

"Our thoughts at this time are absolutely with his family, his friends, who will be distraught at his death."

Neighbours who had been evacuated from their homes were returning on Tuesday night.

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Gun siege man found dead in flat