The family were sitting down to an evening meal when the woman called for help at 6.20pm yesterday.

An armed police unit was sent to the scene, a top-floor flat on the corner of Forton Road and Parham Road, Gosport.

They found the man had shut himself in with the two young children, and was refusing to come out.

Police officers stopped people from walking along the road beside the flat in case he began throwing things out of the window.

Negotiators talked to him through the door and after more than two hours encouraged him to surrender, as pictured on the front page.

Officers investigating the incident say that even though a knife was reported, there was no evidence that any weapon had been involved.

The armed response unit left the scene about 9.15pm and the man was led from the building and put into the back of a police van just after 9.30pm.

Three police vans arrived at the scene and more than 15 officers guarded the area. Crowds gathered outside the shops opposite as they looked to see what was happening.

Paul Pearson, 42, of Forton Road, said: 'I saw all the police cars go past so thought I'd take a walk down and see what was happening.'

Anita Martin, 23, of nearby Avenue Road said: 'I just came to the shops to get some chips and saw all these people stood around and loads of police. The police wouldn't tell us anything but I heard there was someone inside with a knife refusing to come out.

'It's frightening that so many people seem to carry knives these days.'

A 26-year-old man was arrested at the scene on suspicion of common assault and was being questioned today by police.