A GWENT man who falsely imprisoned and attacked his ex-girlfriend sparked a tense seven-hour siege of his house by armed police, a court heard.

A baton round was fired by a police marksman as officers besieged the home of Jason Davis in the Duffryn area of New-port from around 4.30am on Thursday, February 24.

Officers with riot shields, negotiators, around 20 police vehicles and a dog handler were involved in the incident in Cormorant Way.

Davis eventually gave himself up just before 11am.

Police said at the time that he had self-inflicted injuries which were not serious and he had agreed to surrender as a result of negotiations. At Newport crown yesterday Davis, 37, pleaded guilty to the false imprisonment of Lanah Gerard, as well as charges of common assault and affray against her.

During the incident Ms Gerard managed to escape from the house. The main road around the estate and a part of Duffryn Way were sealed off after police were called to Davis' home.

Residents were told to stay indoors and at intervals during the siege Davis appeared at a broken window in the house.

It brought disruption to people preparing to go to work and to children getting ready to leave for school.

Prosecutor Jeffrey Jones told the court yesterday a video and photographs of the siege could be made available for the sentencing judge.

Jonathan Austin, mitigating for Davis, said he objected to the word "siege" being used to describe the incident.

He added: "Having seen him (Davis) this morning... some officers describe this scene and his actions as somewhat exaggerated." Mr Austin said: "He has previous convictions, but nothing as serious as this."

The court heard a psychiatric report was prepared in the case. Judge Christopher Llewellyn-Jones, QC, adjourned sentence until next month for the preparation of a pre-sentence report. Davis was remanded in custody.