POLICE negotiators talked down a man reportedly throwing bricks and tiles from the roof of a house in Appleton yesterday morning.

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The 23-year-old, identified by onlookers as David Warren, had been up there since 4am following a family dispute', police confirmed.

Dozens of astonished neighbours were watching the drama unfold in Waverley Avenue when he was persuaded down at 11.50am.

"Someone who I think was his solicitor arrived and spoke to him, then he disappeared from view, and 10 minutes later he came out the front," said one bystander.

"He was then taken to an ambulance and checked over.

"The negotiator gave him a comforting pat as he went past. He was later put in a police van and driven away."

The incident happened at the home of Mr Warren's parents, who were evacuated, still dressed in their pyjamas, by police.

No-one else was in the house at the time and no-one sustained injuries, although officers in body armour were seen at the scene on stand-by.

Residents in the quiet street, where houses sell for more than £200,000, said there was damage to the chimney and roof as well as to a conservatory.

One man said the unfolding drama, described by another bystander as a tourist attraction', had taken everyone by surprise.

"It's unusual for around here," he said. "He must have shinned up a drainpipe to get up there. If I was them I'd get a hosepipe and hose him down!"

One elderly woman, carrying shopping, appeared to know the man, calling out to him by name as an officer allowed her through the cordon to her home.

A Cheshire Police spokesman said a man had been arrested following the incident and initially charged with damage to a roof'.