A MAN who held a six-year-old girl hostage for over 40 hours while he threatened police with knives was sentenced to jail today for what a judge termed his ''dreadful'' and ''selfish'' crimes.

Paul Eames, 33, was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison after he pleaded guilty to false imprisonment, making threats to kill and affray.

The court heard that last August, after a drunken argument with his former partner, with whom he had a ''stormy relationship'', Eames barricaded himself and a child into a house in Eastfield, Scarborough, North Yorkshire, and told officers surrounding the scene he would kill any police who came near and then kill himself.

During the stand-off, which lasted from the evening of 11 August until 13 August, Eames, who had previous drug abuse problems, brought the child to the window to look out at the scene of the siege, and threw knives out at waiting police officers.

When police entered the ground floor of the building he blocked himself into a bedroom using furniture and mattresses.

David Brooke, prosecuting, told Leeds Crown Court that police noticed his ''irrationality'' and unpredictability.

He said Eames told North Yorkshire Police officers: ''If you want to kick the door in and cause a big scene, you'd best be ready because I've got all manner of weapons in here, and I'm not afraid to use them.''

He also threatened to set two rottweilers on officers, and told them he was armed with weapons including a samurai sword and kitchen knives.

The girl was finally released unharmed after around 40 hours, after armed police, negotiators and a solicitor had been called in to end the siege.

Judge James Spencer QC sentenced Eames to four-and-a-half years for false imprisonment, and gave him two 12-month concurrent sentences for his threats to kill police officers and for affray.

He told Eames, of Danesway, Doncaster: ''Over a period of over 40 hours you kept prisoner this six-year-old child ... you did it for entirely selfish reasons, at first because you were drunk, and then, as you say, you wanted to make your point.

''She at first was able to stand the excitement, but very soon it must have been obvious to you, as it was to other people, how distressed she was by the experience.''

He continued: ''It was a dreadful, dreadful offence.''

Defending Eames, Graham Huston said his client had been drunk at the time of the argument with his former partner, and had carried on drinking as well as taking methadone, which he had a long-term prescription for, and other pills.

He said: ''He would say the matter need not have arisen in the way it did, but he has to take responsibility for what he said and what he did.

''He would say it was the combination of methadone and alcohol and prescribed drugs that made him act the way he did.''

cting Assistant Chief Constable Steve Read said: "The prison sentence handed to Paul Eames reflects the very serious nature of the offences he committed.

"Not only did he falsely imprison a six-year-old girl and made threats to kill her, the female occupant of the house and the police officers who attended, he also put himself in great danger by making such serious threats.

"The level of the sentencing shows that communities cannot and will not tolerate such dangerous behaviour.

"As I stated when the siege came to an end after almost 40 hours, I remain very satisfied with the way we achieved our primary objective of resolving the incident without harm to anybody involved.

"The professionalism shown by our officers was exemplary throughout.

"I would also like to reiterate our thanks and appreciation to the local residents in and around Herborough Road for their support and patience during the police operation."