A disgruntled resident has been arrested after allegedly locking himself in a toilet in Barnet House with a can of petrol.

The man, who has not been named, was arrested after he voluntarily left the 11-storey building, in High Road, Whetstone, following an hour long stand-off. He has been taken to a police station.

Council workers were evacuated from the building, which houses several council departments, at around 12.30pm and it remains closed to the public.

A council spokeswoman said: "Barnet House was today evacuated following an incident involving a member of the public.

"The emergency services attended the scene and a male was taken into custody by the Metropolitan Police Service.

"No members of the public, council staff or emergency services were injured during the incident.

"Barnet House will remain closed to the public today but we expect it to be open for business as normal on Monday."

A customer adviser from the B&Q store next door said the area around Barnet House is now "like a ghost town."

She added: "They've closed our car park and everyone seems to have gone home."