Man doused himself with petrol during six-hour stand-off with armed officers

AN “OUT-OF-CONTROL” man barricaded himself inside a scrap metal yard and doused himself in petrol during a six-hour standoff with armed police, a court has heard.

- JASON EVANS Court and crime reporter [e-mail]

Jason Lewis caused around £10,000 of damage to the business during the incident, which ended when firefighters were able to force entry to the property and firearms officers rushed inside.

Lewis’ barrister told Swansea Crown Court that his client had begun using cannabis at the age of 11 and said the court would not be surprised to hear that the “insidious influence of controlled substances” during the defendant's formative years had impacted his life.

The barrister added that the defendant's mental health issues were the cause of “considerable concern”.

Alycia Carpanini, prosecuting, said the offending before the court started on the evening of June 27 this year in the Salutation Inn in Llandeilo.

She said the defendant and his uncle were sitting at different tables in pub's beer garden when Lewis started shouting threats to kill his relative.

To defuse the situation, the uncle went inside the pub but Lewis followed him while uttering further threats to “kill someone”.

The landlord then asked the defendant to leave the premises.

The prosecutor said the defendant’s uncle was so concerned about the threats that he went home and locked himself in.