Police with dogs surrounded a Worcester house after a man threatened "to shoot a female" in a phone call from a pub.

Bernard Bedford then caught a taxi to his partner's home and barricaded himself in along with her 10-year-old son.

He warned the babysitter he would shoot the child and shouted at officers outside to take a shot, Worcester Crown Court heard.

Bedford, who was depressed by his on-off relationship with Kim Crisp and redundancy, eventually emerged from the house in Patterdale Drive, Warndon, and surrendered.

He pleaded guilty to making threats to kill and was jailed for three years and five months.

Judge Andrew Geddes said he had "put people in terrible fear" after drinking heavily and taking crack cocaine.

Bedford, aged 49, of Sawmill Close, Worcester, arrived at Miss Crisp's home on February 2 as the mother-of-three was going out, leaving her mother, Susan Taylor, to babysit, said Gareth Walters, prosecuting.

The couple went off for a drink but Bedford became morose and bad-tempered.

He left and went to another pub alone before ringing the police switchboard and making the shooting threat.

At about 11pm, he returned to Miss Crisp's home and told her mother he was going to shoot the child. Mrs Taylor was left outside when he barricaded the door.

Bedford later handed the child to police and shouted: "I should have killed her. Do me a favour and take a shot."

Miss Crisp told officers she thought she had taken control of her life but that Bedford had taken over again.

He had 35 previous convictions including seven for assault. David Munro, defending, said he had made empty threats and never had access to a gun.

"What triggered this was alcohol, cocaine and jealousy when Miss Crisp paid attention to other men in the pub," he said. Bedford had recently lost his job as a mechanic and it left him feeling helpless and depressed.