A MAN who held police at bay in a house siege was jailed for two years yesterday.

Michael Sanderson, 34, threw a set of drawers and a blazing duvet at police down the stairs of his mother's home after he told them he had a gun.

Firefighters were called as the landing and stairs caught fire, and Sanderson continued to defy officers even after he was sprayed with CS gas.

Shaun Dryden, prosecuting at Teesside Crown Court, said police were trying to arrest him after he assaulted his former girlfriend, who was five months' pregnant with his baby.

Ian West, in mitigation, said Sanderson wanted to start a new life after he spent 18 months on remand.

Sanderson, of Stockton Road, Hartlepool, was jailed for two years after he pleaded guilty to criminal damage, actual bodily harm assault, affray and criminal damage.