Householders were evacuated from a city street during a three-hour police siege.

Officers were called to flats in Thoresby Road, Acomb, when a gas fire - which had been ripped from the wall - and a television were thrown through the front window of a first-floor home during a disturbance.

The gas supply to the block of flats was turned off, and nearby residents were evacuated.

Extra officers and police dogs were brought in and the road was sealed off, but police maintained a low-key presence.

As senior officers became increasingly concerned about the situation, residents who had been watching from a distance were asked to move inside.

Trained negotiators were brought in to speak to people inside the flat, while officers put on riot gear out of sight of the flat.

Negotiations failed and a decision was made to bring the siege to an end.

While about eight officers carrying shields created a diversion at the front of the block of flats, others went in through a back door and stormed the flat. Moments later, at about 2.40pm, four men were brought out at intervals of about a minute, one man with his trousers round his ankles.

A North Yorkshire police spokesman said nobody was hurt in the siege, but five people had been temporarily evacuated into the care of City of York Council until it was safe for them to return.

* Three men have been released pending further inquiries and a fourth man was detained.

Updated: 10:38 Wednesday, January 24, 2001