Police fire Taser at man in Whitby bridge drama

In a tense stand-off, negotiators spent three hours on Ruswarp viaduct, near Whitby, trying to talk the distressed 50-year-old local man down.

Armed officers were called to the scene at 9.30pm on Thursday, along with the ambulance and fire service. The Coastguard and Whitby Lifeboat were also called out, as fears of the man plunging into the River Esk heightened.

As the man became increasingly agitated and made further threats with the knife, officers used the Taser and handcuffed him, before making an arrest.

A North Yorkshire Police spokesman said: “This was a particularly tense situation involving a highly distressed individual who posed a serious danger to himself and to the police officers who attended to help him.”

The man was arrested on suspicion of affray and being in possession of a bladed article. He was bailed yesterday pending further inquiries.