A MAN has been arrested after trying to steal lead from the roof of a furniture store ravaged by fire during the riots.

Firefighters and police spent four hours trying to coax the man down from the roof of House of Reeves, on Reeves Corner, this morning.  

Police initially had to use a helicopter with thermal imaging technology to locate the intruder after he was spotted on the roof at 3.50am.

Fire crews from Croydon and Wallington deployed ladders and equipment to help him down but he eventually left the roof through the store and was arrested.

House of Reeves owner Trevor Reeves told the Advertiser this morning that the store itself had also been broken into.

He said: "I don't know much about what happened yet other than someone has been caught on the roof nicking lead and has now been nicked.

"It would appear there is a lot more damage than we first thought. Someone has actually broken in to the store and ransacked our back office."

Croydon station manager Peter Rickard said: "We were called to assist the police with a gentleman in a precarious position at Reeves Corner. We assisted the police in making the area safe and then resolving the incident, which is now being investigated by the police.

"There was difficulty in getting him down. It would appear he was reluctant. It was dark and we didn't exactly know where the individual was. The police helicopter had to use heat seeking to find him.

"Although we did pitch some equipment we didn't actually use it. After four hours the man left the roof on his own and was arrested.

"It was an unusual incident but we did well. We were there in three minutes and made sure no one was injured."

Firefighters left the scene at 7.50am this morning.

House of Reeves, one of Croydon's oldest businesses, lost its flagship building during the riots on August 8 last year.

It's second site, now fenced off by hoardings made up of images depicting the store's rich history, was completely destroyed by fire.

The company is so iconic that the road, Reeves Corner, was named after it, followed by the nearby tram stop.

- A 23-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of the theft of lead. He remains in custody at a south London police station