Man charged following incident in Harpenden 

A man has been charged following an incident in Harpenden yesterday (Wednesday 22 March). 

At around 645am, police were called to an address in Pickford Hill following a disturbance. It was reported that two people had been involved in an altercation.  

Police, fire and the ambulance service attended and found that a man had barricaded himself inside the property, causing concerns for his welfare and the safety of emergency services who were in attendance.  

Specially trained armed response officers and police negotiators were deployed to the scene. 

A man was arrested just after 2pm and taken to police custody.  

Paul Lee, aged 45 and from Harpenden, was subsequently charged with affray, intentionally/recklessly causing a public nuisance, common assault, assault by beating and three counts of criminal damage. 

He appeared at Hatfield Magistrates' Court this morning (Thursday 23 March) where he was remanded in custody ahead of his next appearance at St Albans Crown Court on 24 April. 

Detective Sergeant Mark Chipchase, from the St Albans Local Crime Unit, said: "Thankfully no one was seriously injured during this incident. We worked as quickly as we could in order to make sure that the incident was dealt with swiftly and was as contained as possible, prioritising public safety – including that of local residents and all emergency service personnel responding to this incident. 

"I would like to thank the public for their patience while officers worked to bring it to a safe conclusion – especially the residents who were temporarily evacuated from surrounding properties as a safety precaution. Their co-operation and understanding was greatly appreciated."