A siege involving a pensioner who is refusing to leave a house and is thought to be armed has continued into a third day.

Armed police surrounded the property in Harbour Road, Pagham, West Sussex, after receiving reports at around 4.10pm on Sunday that the 72-year-old had a gun and was using threatening behavior.

Chief Superintendent Neil Honnor, of Sussex Police, said the stand-off in the quiet seafront village may be a “little disconcerting and frustrating” for residents.

Officers have cordoned off the property and closed the road. Emergency services remain on stand-by.

A woman who was known to the man had also been in the house, but she left soon after police arrived and is safe and well. There have been no reports of injuries.

Mr. Honnor said: “I appreciate this must be a little disconcerting and frustrating for local residents, having a continued large police presence outside their homes.

Harbour Road is on a dirt track between the seafront and a nature reserve.

Landscape gardener Trevor Hawkins, 54, said he could see four police officers from his home, which has been taped off as part of the cordon.