A MAN described as "a walking time bomb" was jailed for life yesterday, over a 12-hour siege with armed police.

Shaun Hudson, 44, held a woman hostage and barricaded himself in his home, before threatening officers with a deactivated hand grenade, York Crown Court heard.

Hudson, of Bedale House, The Groves, York, had a previous conviction for causing grievous bodily harm with intent, and that meant a life sentence under the recently introduced "two strikes" law.

He pleaded guilty to falsely imprisoning 19-year-old Rose Kershaw last October, possessing an imitation firearm with intent to resist arrest, and affray.

The court heard dozens of armed police sealed off Hudson's home and 16 residents had to be evacuated on the night of the siege.

Prosecuting, Paul Williams said Miss Kershaw and Hudson were drinking at his home when police arrived to talk to him about another matter and he refused to let the officers in.

"The girl heard the accused say he would kill the first policeman through the door and that he had a hand grenade," said Mr Williams.

Dan Edwards, for Hudson, said: "It was a split-second decision when he said he had a hand grenade. He behaved irrationally and things escalated at a terrifying pace."

After the hearing, Hudson's mother, Ms Joan Hudson, said: "He is not a bad lad, he just does things without thinking."