More on KentOnline
More on KentOnline
A Kent tourist visiting Australia has described the moment armed police stormed the area in response to an armed siege at a cafe.
Mick Wohlman, 33, a barman from Marine Parade, Sheerness, arrived on Friday for a sightseeing trip ahead of a friend's wedding in Melbourne at the weekend.
He is staying in a hotel which he says is two blocks or five minutes away from the cafe where staff are being held hostage by a masked gunman.
The siege was brought to an end just before 3am local time (3.45 GMT) after commandos stormed the cafe.
The hostage taker - reported to be Iranian refugee Haron Monis, 49 - is believed to have been killed, along with two hostages.
Earlier today Mick, who is travelling alone, described how news of the siege broke at his hotel.
He said: "I went to the hotel pool about 9.30am when one of the guests said, 'there's something going on outside'.
"We went to have a look and there were police everywhere - I've never seen so many."
Mick said while much of the area in the vicinity of the cafe was in lockdown since the siege started, guests have been allowed out of his hotel for "fresh air" breaks as long as they carry their passports with them.
He said the situation remained tense and the city itself was like a "ghost town".
"I've walked passed bars and restaurants which are normally packed but there's no one in them," he said.
He said local radio bulletins claim the gunman made a set of demands which included holding a live interview with the Australian Prime Minister and having an IS flag delivered to the cafe so he can "show who he's representing".
He said the gunman also took the hostages' mobile phones and was sending messages via their social network accounts.
It prompted police to urge the public not to resend any of the messages should they receive them.
Mick, who is due to return to England on Christmas Eve, described the scene earlier.
He said: "It's surreal, like something from a film.
"I'm standing about 350 yards from the cafe among news crews and looking at police standing, about eight-deep, head-to-toe in bullet proof clothing.
"Night's beginning to fall and everywhere else in the city, apart from outside the cafe, is empty.
"It's really eerie - it feels like we're all waiting for the worst to happen."
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