WITNESS Richard Easton, 45, of Foundry Street, which has been cordoned off, heard the sound of a window cracking before armed police arrived.

He believed it was a bolt from the crossbow which hit a neighbour's window.

He said: "I heard shouting and bawling.

"He was shouting "I'm going to kill you, you bastards. You ruined my life.

"From my back door I could see him at the window.

"He was wearing a tee-shirt and had a crossbow in his hand. He was firing at random.

"I saw him fire it a couple of times.

"The police were trying to calm him down.

"They were shouting to him put the weapon down."

Mr Easton, who was in the army for 13 years, said the man armed with a crossbow was singling out a particular officer by name who did not appear to be there at the time.

The armed man shouted: "Fetch the WPC, I'm not talking to the rest of you.

"I'm going to kill you. I'm going to kill myself."

Mr Easton said: "I wouldn't say he really aimed the crossbow, he was not in the right state of mind to do that. He definitely was not himself."

The witness said he was told to go back in his house when armed officers arrived and he later heard a shot being fired.

He believed officers did all they could to avoid the situation escalating.

"They warned him plenty of times. They kept telling him to put the weapon down and come out."