ARMED SIEGE ENDS AS GRANDAD SURRENDERS
AN armed pensioner gave himself up after a 40-hour siege yesterday after police pleaded: “Think of your grandchildren – and your dogs.”
Police snipers trained their weapons on Terry Bridger as he shuffled out of his home cradling one of his pets.
Two hours earlier, Bridger, 72, signalled the beginning of the end of the tense standoff as he freed the other dog.
He had apparently threatened to set fire to his beachside bungalow.
But he appeared to change his mind after a negotiator yelled through a megaphone: “What would your lovely grandchildren think of this?”
An officer also pleaded with Bridger to free the dogs from the barricaded home in Pagham, West Sussex.
Neighbour Philip Isom said: “I heard, ‘Come on Terry, let them out!’ Terry and his missus have two dogs. One was released and you could tell it was the beginning of the end.”
Bridger later emerged after his wife Dawn waved at him. He was arrested for possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life and threats to kill. One onlooker said he was “mouthing off” as he was taken to hospital.
His legally held shotgun was seized by police.
Bridger sparked the siege on Sunday. Mrs Bridger, 67, fled as armed police surrounded the property.
Ron Harris-Shaw, 73, who lives opposite, said the incident has been like “a Hollywood film”. He said: “Police were using residents’ cars as shields. Terry’s the quietest man on the street. Unlike others he doesn’t say much.”
One woman neighbour, who declined to be named, said: “It’s been a very stressful three days.
“I honestly thought he wasn’t going to walk out of there. I feared he would turn the gun on himself. It’s been a horrible, horrible 40 hours.
“Being trapped inside has been awful. I was scared if I popped my head out the window then I would get hurt.”
About 30 officers were involved in the operation, including marksmen and negotiators. Sussex Police district commander Marc Clothier said: “Our priority was to bring this to a peaceful and safe outcome.”