Anger boils over among neighbours as police siege becomes longest in Britain

A gunman who has been surrounded by armed police for six days was warned yesterday by senior officers not to mistake the sound of New Year's Eve fireworks for an attempt to storm his besieged flat.

Scotland Yard feared that noisy celebrations might provoke the gunman into opening fire on police, who have cordoned off a busy area of east London since Boxing Day.

The operation was due today to become the longest police hostage stand-off in Britain, eclipsing the six-day Balcombe Street siege of 1975, when an IRA terrorist cell was trapped in a London flat.

The gunman, Eli Hall, 32, is holding a man against his will but has made no demands during talks with police negotiators.

The siege began when Mr Hall exchanged shots with officers who tried to arrest him after his car was linked to a shooting in central London five months ago.

Four streets in Hackney have been closed off and 43 people who live in the gunman's line of fire have been told not to leave their homes. A further 12 have been moved to bed-and-breakfast accommodation and are being supported by the Women's Royal Voluntary Service. Take-away food shops, beauty salons, minicab offices and dozens of other firms have been forced to remain closed as streets have been blocked off with a cobweb of yellow police tape. Ambulances, fire engines, police vans and Land Rovers, dog teams, officers from across London and marksmen from the specialist SO19 firearms unit have been deployed.

There was a palpable anger in the neighbourhood yesterday as residents expressed their frustration at not being able to go about their daily routines.

Kelly Lord, 27, a communications officer living in the same block of apartments as Mr Hall, said: "It's disgusting that one man can do all this." Ms Lord questioned why police had not used tear gas to overcome the gunman. "You see it in the films," she said.

On busy Mare Street, Nicky Keogh, 33, was among those unable to get to the social security office, which is in the sealed-off area.

Mr Keogh was angry that police had provided food to Mr Hall during the siege. "They took him a Kentucky. He'll want a gourmet steak tonight," he said. "I'm getting pissed off with it. I think they should storm the building now."

Officers minding barricades tried to ignore comments from passing youths. "Why don't you just go and get him," one said. "He's been there for about two weeks now!"

The police are conscious of the growing tensions and yesterday officers issued leaflets to local businesses and residents thanking them for their "patience ... during this difficult time". It said: "We fully understand the inconvenience this must be causing you but your safety is most important to us. The Metropolitan Police Service is doing everything we can to resolve the situation as quickly and safely as possible."

At a briefing yesterday, Superintendent John Bobin said that Mr Hall – who has not been named by police – had shown no intention of coming out of the first-floor flat in Graham Road where he is understood to have lived for several years. "The clear message is that he does not want to leave these premises," he said.

Superintendent Bobin said the hostage appeared to be known to Mr Hall and was not believed to have been harmed. He added: "These are very difficult and sensitive circumstances. We are trying to resolve this in the shortest time possible but our overriding concern is for the safety of residents and other members of the community."

The siege began when officers spotted Mr Hall's Toyota Celica parked in adjoining Marvin Street and linked the vehicle to a shooting in Soho in the summer. As they tried to remove the car for forensic science testing, Mr Hall berated them from a window and the officers called for help from SO19. Negotiators persuaded Mr Hall to drop a handgun from a window but he is believed to possess other firearms.

Hackney was named last month as one of five districts in London with alarming levels of gun crime. Residents have become accustomed to shooting incidents but are divided on how police should respond to the problem.

Alan Chamberlain, 60, a neighbour of Mr Hall in the same Graham Mansions apartment block, said: "People are saying they don't care if the police go and shoot him as long as they're not inconvenienced. To say, 'Go and kill him because I've run out of bread and milk' is an appalling attitude."

Mr Chamberlain, a publican who said he had often seen Mr Hall sitting in his car listening to music, was given an armed police escort to and from his flat. He said: "I was stuck in there for four days. They didn't want us to come out at all but I had to get to work."

As he spoke, another neighbour complained about the police tactics. Mr Chamberlain said: "The police are in a no-win situation. What do people want? To get shot?"

IRA gang's six-day stand-off in 1975

The Balcombe Street siege of 1975, when four armed IRA men held a middle-aged couple hostage in their council flat in Marylebone, north London, for six days, was one of the most dramatic events of the Troubles. The men held a postal worker and his wife in one room as Metropolitan Police officers surrounded the flat and negotiated with the men. Police microphones picked up the men discussing shooting their way out, but in the end they came out with their hands up. Their hostages, who were released unharmed, said they had not been physically ill-treated. The men had been chased by police after they had fired shots at a restaurant in Mayfair. Hundreds of officers had been drafted into central London after a series of attacks in which several people were killed. The men abandoned their car during the chase and barricaded themselves into the flat. Police negotiated via a field telephone. An initial demand of a plane to take the gang to the Republic of Ireland was dropped. As the days passed water, food and cigarettes were provided by police, whose strategy was to play a waiting game and wear down the men. Eventually they released the hostages, left their weapons in the flat and surrendered. One of the officers involved, Peter Imbert, later became Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police and was knighted. The gang served more than 20 years in prison.

David McKittrick