A man has been arrested after a number of commercial buildings were evacuated on an industrial estate.

Crowds of staff gathered in Wincheap outside Toolstation, Kew Electrical Distributors and the offices of Canterbury Probation Service, on the city’s outskirts this afternoon.

Police patrol cars and a fire engine attended Simmonds Road and Cushman Road, with witnesses reporting seeing a man on the roof of the Toolstation building.

A spokesman for Kent Police confirmed a man had been arrested.

They said: “Kent Police was called at 2.23pm to a report of a man seen on a roof in Wincheap Industrial Estate, Canterbury.

“The surrounding roads were closed as a precaution while the man was safely located.

“With the assistance of Kent Fire and Rescue Service, the man has now been safely removed from the rooftop.

“The man, in his 30s, has since been arrested on suspicion of criminal damage.”