Residents of Sedbergh awoke yesterday to find themselves caught up in the drama of an armed siege, reports Jon Taylor.

More than a dozen armed officers surrounded Fell House, a holiday cottage on Howgill Lane, where a man who police said was suspected of murder had taken refuge.

Properties adjoining the seize house all share the same loft space, and police acted quickly to evacuate owners to the nearby Dalesman Country Inn.

Landlady Jude Garnett told how the popular public house became a safe haven for the fearful residents.

"We were woken up just before five by a low-flying helicopter shining its search-beam through the windows.

Then suddenly the police rushed in through the door with several of our neighbours.

They all looked shocked and scared.

We quickly gave them hot tea and coffee, fed them, and tried to keep them calm."

One of the evacuees, holidaymaker Justin Barter, 28, was staying next door to Fell House and told of his terror as he was whisked from his bed and into the Dalesman.

"One minute I was asleep, and the next minute four policemen were quickly ushering me into the nearby pub.

I hardly had time to get dressed.

It was a terrifying experience I never want to go through again."

The opening term chapel service at Sedbergh School gave head teacher Christopher Hirst a chance to instruct the students about what was happening.

"Obviously some of the in-take were upset by the amount of disruption on their first day at a new school.

The students' safety is always of paramount importance to us, and as the incident developed we worked closely with the police to keep everyone informed and safe", he told the Gazette.

Mr Hirst told how some of the boarding students had to be moved from their rooms as the police response unit tried to find the best vantage point to oversee the drama.

"One of our residential boarding houses, Evans House, is opposite the siege and the police immediately evacuated the boys so that they could use the rooms for surveillance.

They also commandeered the playing fields as a landing place for their helicopter.

It was amazing to see it all unfold in front of us."

For full details see this week's Gazette.