Tributes to man shot dead by police on Christmas Eve

Candles and tributes have been left at the scene

Tributes have been left at the property where a man was shot dead after a Christmas Eve standoff with armed officers.

West Mercia Police has referred itself to the Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC) over the man's death, which happened several hours after paramedics expressed concerns for the safety of a man who had a knife.

The shooting happened at an address in Fownhope Close in Redditch, after emergency crews arrived at about 14:00 GMT on Tuesday.

One message left at the scene paid tribute to a "Marcus", though there has been no formal identification of the man who died.

"You [were] our friend," it read. "Sorry it ended without a goodbye."

One message left at the scene paid tribute to a man called Marcus

The message was accompanied by a star and surrounded by candles on a window ledge.

A neighbour told the BBC the deceased man had lived at the address for years, describing him as a "friendly" man who "kept himself to himself".

Forensic officers were on the scene throughout Christmas Day but a police cordon has now been scaled back.

Forensic officers had been on the scene on Christmas Day

The force said a police negotiator attempted to resolve the situation over several hours, before the man was shot at about 19:40 GMT.

He was pronounced dead 20 minutes later, with the IOPC confirming a knife was recovered from the scene and police officers involved had provided "initial accounts" of what happened.

"This is a tragic incident, and our thoughts are with everyone affected at this difficult time," Assistant Chief Constable Grant Wills said.

'Robust investigation'

The IOPC said the man's family had been contacted to "express our condolences and explain our involvement".

"Our role is to independently investigate all the circumstances surrounding this incident including the actions and decisions taken by officers," said director of operations Steve Noonan.

"While police shootings are thankfully rare, it is understandable that people will be concerned when it does happen, and it is important we conduct a detailed and robust investigation into what took place."

West Mercia Police said the IOPC would now lead on the investigation and it would be unable to comment further.

The watchdog was understood to be at a "very early stage" of its probe and unlikely to be commenting further before the full investigation takes place.

No-one else was at the address throughout the incident, and the coroner has been informed a post-mortem examination was due to take place.