Denied vehicle licence, man takes four hostages in London

London, April 27 (IANS) A man in London, reported to be "angry" at not getting a heavy goods vehicle licence, Friday walked into a building strapped with gasoline cylinders, took four people hostage and threatened to blow up an office, a media report said.

The incident took place at Tottenham Court Road in central London. Hundreds of people were evacuated from nearby buildings, and snipers, explosive experts and a police negotiator reached the spot to attend to the crisis situation, Sky News reported.

Police were called in when the man threw computers, furniture and papers from the fifth floor of the building, called Shropshire House.

Police have confirmed it was not a terrorist incident. They said a man was "causing a disturbance and criminal damage at an office building".

Abby Baafi, 27, head of training and operations at Advantage, a company which offers heavy goods vehicle (HGV) courses, said the man had targeted her offices and was holding four men hostage.

In a video posted on YouTube, she said: "What happened is, we were in the office and someone came in. He asked him what his name was and he said it was Michael Green. I recognised him because he was one of our previous customers but he is not quite stable - mentally stable. He turned up, strapped up with gasoline cylinders, and threatened to blow up the office."

"He said he doesn't care about his life. He doesn't care about anything, he is going to blow up everybody. He was specifically looking for me but I said 'My name's not Abby' and he let me go."