Man in his 40s shot dead by police after lengthy stand-off inside house

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Officers were alerted to reports of vehicles being damaged on Aylesbury Road in Bedford, shortly after 10.40pm on Monday evening.

When they arrived, they found a man in his 40s who had barricaded himself inside a property and was making threats.

Specialist armed officers attended the scene and supported by police negotiators and other emergency services but despite the best efforts of negotiators to bring the man down, he brandished a weapon shortly before 9:30am this morning.

Police fired and the man was pronounced dead shortly before 10.30am.

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Bedfordshire Police confirmed it has made a mandatory referral to the police watchdog, the Independent Office for Police Conduct, which has launched an investigation.

The force said "despite sustained efforts over a number of hours to engage with the man and bring the incident to a safe resolution he presented a weapon before police fired" shortly after 9.30am on Tuesday.

A number of properties were evacuated while the incident was ongoing and police are supporting them to return to their homes.

An Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) spokesperson added: "We were notified by Bedfordshire Police that a man was shot by armed police at a property in Aylesbury Road and was declared deceased shortly before 10.30am.

"After being notified by the force, we declared an independent investigation and have sent investigators to the scene and the police post incident procedure to begin gathering evidence.

"Our thoughts are with the man’s family and everyone affected by this incident.”