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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
National
Bonnie Christian

Brothers jailed for 15 months after fleeing police and throwing tiles at them from a London rooftop

Two brothers have been jailed after a standoff with police in which they threw tiles at officers from the top of a roof in north west London.

Billy Watson, 20, and Charlie Watson, 18, were both sentenced to 15 months prison for public nuisance, affray and two counts of criminal damage.

The pair clambered onto the roof of a terrace house in Kilburn after being chased by police on March 26.

Neighbours were evacuated at the time after some reported the young men appeared to be armed.

Officers first approached the brothers after they appeared to be acting suspiciously near a motorbike in a car park off Kingsgate Road.

Billy Watson (L) and Charlie Watson (R) were both jailed for 15 months after throwing tiles at police from a rooftop. (Met Police)

They fled,climbing over garden fences and then onto the roofs, via scaffolding, of nearby terrace houses.

They refused to come down and threw tiles and objects towards the officers, causing damage to surrounding properties.

A large cordon was put in place and local residents evacuated until just after midnight, when the brothers climbed down and were arrested.

No firearm was found following a search of the area.

Detective Constable Dean Puzey of Central North Command Unit said; “The actions of both men caused a huge disturbance to the local community. A number of local residences were displaced for several hours.

“The incident required the attended of many local officers, specialist police units and resources from the London Ambulance Service. This wastefully diverted these resources away from other incidents.

“Owing to the nature of the incident, the attendance of the National Police Air Service (NPAS) was necessary, but I am aware the noise disturbed many people.

“Both these men broke tiles off the roofs and threw them at officers, endangering their safety and causing damage to many properties.

“I hoped the prosecution will reassure the local community that those cause such wanton damage and disruption will face the consequence of their actions .”

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