Stanstead Abbots Five women were held hostage at gunpoint for more than three hours during a siege, police said. Armed officers sealed off Stanstead Abbots, in Hertfordshire, after a delivery driver held a pistol to a woman’s head, witnesses said. The man entered a small business unit in The Maltings about 10.15am and did not give himself up until 1.45pm. The hostages were released unhurt.

Guy Horlock, chairman of French & Judd, which sub-lets the unit, named the woman as Rosemary Rogers, of Team Colours, a clothing manufacturer. He said: “She was threatened but she is OK, I gather. She was taken by the police. You have never seen so many police in your life. Stanstead Abbots was absolutely sealed off. There were armed police everywhere.”

Another witness said that when the five women came out they looked “petrified and shaken up”.

Hertfordshire police said that 45 officers, including hostage negotiators, firearms specialists, a helicopter team and the dog section were involved. A man was arrested on suspicion of false imprisonment.

Times Recommends

• Computer warriors pay for far-away mercenaries
• Divorce rate falls to 26-year low
• Boris adviser says Olympians tainted with blood