Police cordoned off part of a town centre after a man climbed onto a shopping centre roof.

The bottom of Gabriel's Hill in Maidstone was shut this afternoon after the man scaled The Mall shopping centre.

He was first spotted on the roof of The Golden Boot shoe shop in Gabriel's Hill before he climbed across to the The Mall.

Police stopped shoppers entering or leaving the shopping centre while they detained the man.

The incident was quickly over and the cordon lifted.

A spokesman for The Mall said: "There was unfortunately an incident at the Mall this afternoon which resulted in the Gabriels' Hill entrance being closed for a short period. The Mall remained open and trading was unaffected."

Police said: "Officers were called at around 1.45pm regarding concern about a man at a multi-storey car park near Romney Place, Maidstone.

"A man was arrested on suspicion of possession of a bladed article and a public order offence, and was taken into custody."

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