'I'm staying here as long as I like!'

ROOFTOP STAND-OFF CULPRIT TOLD POLICE ...

- By PETER CRAIG

POLICE negotiators spent more than three hours persuading a man to come down from a rooftop stand-off, a court heard.

Tiles on the roof and a chimney stack were damaged in the stand-off on Sheffield Street West, in Scunthorpe.

Thirty-one officers from Humberside Police and a fire crew from Humberside Fire and Rescue Service were positioned to secure residents, their property and the culprit.

Children were unable to return to their homes, Grimsby Crown Court heard. He was heard shouting at police officers and said he was “going to stay up as long as he liked”.

Jamie Barratt eventually descended from the roof after negotiations with police. At Grimsby Crown Court, Barratt, 30, of no fixed address, admitted an offence of public nuisance and criminal damage committed on February 16.

He also admitted possession of a Rambo-style knife and a small quantity of heroin for personal use when he was pursued by police on March 9, while on bail for the previous offences.