Distressed man speaks out

The father-of-two told the Leader he had a family dispute at the weekend before the incident when he sat in a roofspace threatening to harm himself.

Around twenty homes were evacuated last Monday afternoon as members of the emergency services attempted to talk the man, who was in possession of a gas cylinder, into leaving the house.

“I want to make it clear to the people of Edenderry that it was never my intention to harm anyone,” said the man who spent some time at the Bluestone Unit in Craigavon after the incident before moving back to Banbridge.

“This was a family matter and there was never any chance that harm would come to anyone living in the estate.”