Man throws roof tiles at police during five-hour pub stand-off

A man threw tiles from a pub roof and smashed windows during a near five-hour stand-off as police officers negotiated with him.

Joseph Dowling caused over £8,000 worth of damage during the incident at The Lurcher pub in Rainworth, Nottinghamshire, on Friday 19 April 2024.

Nottingham Crown Court heard that the 38-year-old had been drinking alcohol steadily throughout the day, from around 11am, before he was involved in a verbal altercation with his former partner in the pub later that night.

He became abusive, started to throw things around in an upstairs flat, and ripped a CCTV screen off the wall causing damage to it.

Dowling then climbed out of a window onto the roof of the pub at around 11:30pm, causing the pub to be cleared out after police arrived on scene and began negotiating with him.

He continued to be abusive and aggressive towards officers, smashed windows to the flat, ripped off roof tiles and threw them to the floor near the police.

Dowling eventually came down from the roof at around 4.30am the following morning and was taken into custody.

He has since been jailed for a total of 15 months and made subject of a five-year restraining order.