A MAN appeared to pull out a gun as police officers went to make an arrest at a caravan park.
It sparked a huge firearms operation at St Helena's Caravan Park, off Otley Old Road, in Bramhope.
A stand-off lasting almost 24 hours ensued, as police made attempts to resolve the situation safely.
The timeline of events first began when West Yorkshire Police received a report of a domestic-related malicious communications offence at 1.56pm on Saturday.
Police managed to trace the suspect to an address at the caravan park, which is near Leeds-Bradford Airport (LBA), just after 1pm on Sunday.
Officers went in to the area to make an arrest, but the suspect - a male - pulled out what looked to be a firearm.
Police immediately withdrew and the situation was escalated, with a huge operation put in place.
Yesterday, police cars, ambulances, fire engines and the bomb squad were seen at the site, as well as some people reportedly seeing armed officers at the scene.
West Yorkshire Police confirmed this afternoon that the force deployed firearms officers and negotiators, in an attempt to bring the incident to a safe conclusion.
Members of the public flocked to social media after witnessing the police helicopter whirring above the area last night.
One person said at 6.14pm on Sunday: "Police helicopter is high above Horsforth and has been for ages."
Another onlooker saw one helicopter in the sky at 6.50pm, which was then joined by another force aircraft.
That was the National Police Air Service (NPAS) North-East Region's plane.
The National Police Air Service (NPAS) North-East Region's aeroplane was circling above the Horsforth area, near Leeds-Bradford Airport, for a number of hours last night. Pic: flightradar24.com
It set off from Doncaster - where it is based - at 5.53pm yesterday and arrived in the area at around 6.15pm.
The plane then spent the next five hours circling the area, before heading back to base at 11.25pm.
West Yorkshire Police revealed this morning that the siege was still ongoing, with onlookers reporting that chemical weapons specialists were present.
The stand-off was close to hitting the 24-hour mark when officers managed to arrest a 56-year-old man, at 12.42pm today.
He was taken into custody.
Chief Inspector Pete Hall, who heads neighbourhood policing for Leeds District, said: "We would like to thank the residents of the park and anyone else affected for their patience while we worked to bring this incident to a safe conclusion."
St Helena's is a four-star rated caravan site, which is open all year, and has 46 residential park homes, as well as space for 30 seasonal campaign pictures.
The owners of the caravan site gave “no comment” when asked about the ongoing police investigation.
A full statement from West Yorkshire Police, released this afternoon, said: "A firearms operation at a caravan park in Leeds has now concluded safely.
"At 1.56pm on Saturday, police received a report of a domestic-related malicious communications offence.
"Shortly after 1pm on Sunday, officers carried out enquiries to trace the suspect at an address at St Helena’s Caravan Park, in Bramhope.
"The male produced what appeared to be a firearm and the officers withdrew.
"An operation involving firearms officers and negotiators was put in place to bring the incident to a safe conclusion.
"At 12.42pm today, a 56-year-old man was detained at the scene without incident and taken into custody."
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