A MAN seen dangling from a balcony in Basingstoke has been arrested after a woman was assaulted, police confirmed.

Hampshire Constabulary said a 33-year-old was arrested on suspicion of assault following an incident at Longbourn Place, Priestley Road, this afternoon.

A woman in her 40s has been taken to hospital.

Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service said they were called to rescue a man from the balcony of his fifth-floor apartment on Priestley Road, Langbourn Place at 3.18pm, on Monday, April 13.

A spokesperson from the fire service said: "We had a call come through at 3.18pm. We have been called to help the police rescue a male from the fifth floor flat. The male was rescued. We dealt with the incident at 3.51pm. We had three fire engines and an ALP."

An onlooker said the incident appeared to be relating to a person who was hanging from the railings, several floors up the block of flats.

The witness said: "There are four or five fire engines here now. [We just saw] lots of police run into the building. They are getting all the equipment out."

They said the man was using one hand attached to the railings before heading back indoors.

The witness added: "The incident started at 3pm and he was hanging over the railing for the last 30 minutes."

It comes after a week ago, a flat in a block of flats in the same area went up in flames afte a suspected arson attack. 

One resident told the Gazette the atmosphere at Priestley Road has been strange over the past week.

Glen Marsh said: "There has been lots of tension in the area [since the fire last Monday].

"There has been lots of screaming and the police and ambulance were in attendance last Wednesday at around 8.30pm.

He added: "People are going stir crazy indoors. I do not know if it is normal domestic issues or whether people are acting out after being cooped up indoors."

Reflecting on this afternoon's incident, he said he saw the gentleman had been led to safety from the balcony though several emergency service vehicles are still at the scene.