A SEVEN-hour police stand-off was sparked after two suspected burglars climbed onto the roof of the shop and refused to come down.

More than a dozen officers were involved and a number of streets in the centre of Mill Hill, Blackburn, had to be cordoned off while police dealt with the incident.

Officers were alerted at around 2.15am this morning to reports the Spar shop in New Chapel Street was being burgled.

Police were on the scene within four minutes and said two men climbed onto the roof of the shop.

Officers - including a specialist police negotiator - tried to encourage them to come down.

At 7.05am, one of the men came down from the roof.

But the other man remained there until 9.20am. Police said he was distressed and was heard in the area threatening to jump off the shop, forcing officers to clear the immediate area.

A police spokesman also said he asked a woman, believed to be his mother, to get him a clean pair of trainers in the moments before he eventually agreed to come down.

The fire service’s aerial ladder platform was used to bring him to safety.

The two men, aged 24 and 25, were arrested on the suspicion of burglary.

Police said they recovered thousands of pounds in cash that had allegedly been taken in the raid on the Spar, along with numerous cartons of cigarettes, from the area around the premises.

Local shopkeepers said the incident caused disruption to their Monday morning trade.

The incident also attracted a large crowd of people who watched the drama unfold.

Julia Mullan, 59, of Mullan’s News, said: “It’s been more of a nuisance than anything else.

“We have lost trade but I can appreciate that they had to cordon the area off.”

John Nuttall, 40, who runs a corner shop near to Spar, said: “It’s hit trade a bit this morning and its definitely a bit of a shock to start the week like this.”

Sarah Ebbrell, 36, of Anna’s Florists, said: “I have to park a long way from the shop in order to get to work.

“It was a shock and we were lucky we were let through to the shop.

"All the roads were shut off until about 9.30am so no deliveries have able to get through to us.”

Nicola Holder, 27, of The Big Sandwich shop, said: “It has been quieter than usual down here.

“This is the main road through Mill Hill so by cordoning it off there had been a lot of disruption.”

A resident of nearby Angela Street, who asked not to be named, added: “I didn’t see anything until about 5.30 this morning and then I saw him sat on the roof. It’s not something you expect to see.”

Chris Herdson, 40, owner of Britannia Batteries, said: “First thing in a morning it’s a bit of an eye opener.

"I could hear him shouting to his mum. He was shouting ‘mum, mum’ from the top of the Spar.”

A police spokesman said: “We got a call at 2.13am after someone had seen three men breaking in to a shop. By 2.17am two men were on the roof.

“A large amount of cash - thousands of pounds - was recovered from the scene.

“One man did ask for his mum to get him new trainers and she brought back a box to the scene.

“We would like to thank local residents for being patient throughout the incident and fortunately it was brought to a safe conclusion.

”The safety of the public and the men on the roof was our main concern.”