ARMED police last night dramatically ended a seven-hour siege in an Italian restaurant which brought Glasgow city centre to a standstill.
Scores of officers used battering rams to force their way into Amarone in Nelson Mandela Place at 11.40pm, where a man had been inside since he allegedly threatened staff with a bomb.
Royal Navy bomb disposal experts were drafted into the stand-off during which part of Scotland's busiest shopping street, Buchanan Street, was sealed off after the man made threats in a branch of Amarone in Nelson Mandela Place.
A Strathclyde Police spokeswoman said "One male was detained and is on route to hospital for a check up."
Police marksmen were training their sights on the restaurant and negotiators were earlier understood to be speaking to him.
Armed police, some carrying riot shields, were among scores of officers called to the historic square, at around 3.40pm when the area was busy with workers heading home, shoppers and people arriving in the city for a night out.
Nobody was hurt in the incident, although a fleet of ambulances remained on standby in the surrounding streets.
Gillian Galloway, 27, of Uddingston, near Glasgow, who was in the restaurant when it was evacuated after a fire alarm sounded, said: "It's absolutely mental. We were told we had to go for our own safety. It seems to be some guy who said he has a bomb. I bet he doesn't realise what he has done."
Superintendent Brian McInulty of Strathclyde Police earlier said the situation had been "contained" with the man isolated in the building.
He said: "At around 3.40pm this afternoon, police responded to a call about a man acting suspiciously within Amarone restaurant in Nelson Mandela Place. The police response was appropriate to the nature of the incident."
As the incident unfolded, he said: "The situation is completely under control. It is really too early to speculate anything regarding what the man may or may not have in his possession.
"We are trying to communicate with him, we have negotiators trying to negotiate with the person as we speak."
He added: "The only person in the restaurant at this time is the man who has given to rise to the alert."
Mr McInulty apologised to the public for the disruption caused by a cordon, which also closed parts of neighbouring West Nile Street.
Bus services were stopped and passengers ordered off.
Buchanan Street Subway station was shut and the entrance to Queen Street mainline railway from Dundas Lane was closed. Motorists were also halted by the blockades in the nearby streets, which police said was "for their own safety".
The senior officer added: "We have had to close a number of roads to manage this incident as safely as possible. I am conscious it's a Friday night and I apologise to anybody who is trying to get home from work and feel some frustration about that.
"Our priority assuredly is the safety of the people in the city centre and that's why we are managing the situation the way we are."
Normally busy with people enjoying a night out, the area was eerily silent apart from the continual sirens of police vehicles. While negotiations were taking place, police marksmen could be seen perched on the roof of St George's Tron Church opposite the basement restaurant.
Three black-clad officers carrying shields and guns were stationed outside the church.
The popular restaurant is located in the historic Townhouse, at the corner of Nelson Mandela Place and Buchanan Street. It houses a shop on the ground floor and was formerly the home of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and the Glasgow Liberal Club.
Staff at a number of neighbouring premises were also escorted through the cordon to safety.
Ross Taylor, 20, from the west end of Glasgow, was evacuated from a bus. He said: "I can't believe what I am seeing. The police are everywhere, I just hope that everyone is safe."
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