PROBATION staff were left terrified after a man poured paraffin over himself and threatened to set himself alight during a 30-minute stand-off.
The 39-year-old man was clutching a lighter and gesturing to ignite it in an office inside the Probation Service premises in Avenue Road, Hartlepool.
Horrified staff contacted the police and fire brigade when the nightmare ordeal started at 1.30
pm on Wednesday.
After half an hour of negotiations with the man, he released the lighter and officers were stood down.
The man was then taken to the University Hospital of Hartlepool were he was treated for ingestion of the paraffin.
It is not known whether the man had drunk some of the highly-flammable liquid or whether he was suffering from inhaling the fumes.
Firefighters from Stranton Fire Station were ordered on standby while police officers carried out their negotiations.
Watch manager Andy Robinson said: "We were on protective standby so if the worse came to the worse we could extinguish the fire.
"We had a hose reel and a couple of fire blankets ready to use."
A spokeswoman for Cleveland Police said: "At 1.30pm we received a call from staff at the probation office reporting there was a man threatening to pour fuel over himself and set himself alight in one of the interview rooms.
"He did pour the fuel over himself and he had a lighter.
"Police and fire officers went straight to the scene.
"After some negotiation the man handed himself over and he was taken to the University Hospital of Hartlepool for treatment for ingestion," added the spokeswoman.
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