A MAN surrendered to police following a dramatic armed siege outside a house in Scarborough.

A flat in the resort's Grosvenor Crescent was sealed off by a police tactical firearms unit after the man, who was inside, refused to give himself up.

But trained negotiators eventually talked him out at 7.15pm yesterday, with no shots being fired.

The man was arrested, along with two other men, in connection with an armed robbery at Scalby Mills Service Station, in Burniston Road, earlier in the day.

All three men, and another man later arrested in connection with the incident, were today still being interviewed by police.

Police said two armed men had threatened a female assistant with a handgun before making off with a quantity of cash.

The vehicle believed to be involved in the incident was found in the Ramshill Road area.

A woman was also arrested in Grosvenor Crescent, during the armed stand-off, but this was not directly in connection with the robbery. She was later released without charge.

Chief Inspector Ken Gill, who led the police operation, said: "This was potentially a very dangerous situation and I'm very pleased with the way our officers responded, firstly in their response to the original robbery and locating the suspected vehicle, and secondly in the way the situation was eventually resolved with no members of the public, no officers and none of the suspects coming to any harm."

Fourteen armed officers and four police dogs were used during the operation.

Updated: 10:58 Wednesday, May 14, 2003