The man sits on the windowsill of the flat in Somerset Close, Tottenham, this afternoon.

Police have arrested a man who threatened to set himself and his home alight yesterday if bailiffs evicted him, following an all-day siege.

The man, named locally as Wayne Wilson, 46, barricaded himself in a first-floor flat in Somerset Close, off Lordship Lane in Tottenham, for about 12 hours, until police talked him down just before midnight last night.

Riot police at the scene were ready to force their way in with an ‘enforcer’ battering ram last night, but Mr Wilson left the flat peacefully at about 11.30pm and was arrested.

Friends said the self-employed gardener has been embroiled in a High Court battle with Sanctuary Housing Association over his tenancy, which ended with a judge issuing an eviction order.

A spokesman for the housing association said he had not paid rent for more than a year and was offered help and advice prior to any legal action.

Mr Wilson, said to have lived at the same address for around 20 years, was described as a decent man and keen marathon runner who never got into trouble.

His friend, legal advisor Winston Leachman, said yesterday: “He’s at his wit’s end and he doesn’t know what else to do. He has nowhere else to go.”

Sanctuary Housing Association made contingency overnight arrangements for evacuated tenants, but residents were allowed to return to their homes following the arrest last night.

Mr Wilson remains in police custody today.

No weapons were involved or intimated, and no injuries were reported, said a police spokesman.