A two-hour stand-off between armed police and a knife-wielding man has ended in Christchurch

Just after 6pm, police brought the man out of a Waltham house - which had been surrounded by the Armed Offenders Squad and a specialist unit.

Police were first alerted to a robbery - with a teenager saying they were threatened with a knife - and there's also been reports of a stabbing.

The Herald's Kurt Bayer says windows could be heard being smashed just before armed police and a police dog entered the flat.

He says the man wasn't providing a struggle when he was taken to the rear of a police car

Among the many onlookers were some of the victims.