A father-of-two is under arrest after threatening to set himself and his two small daughters on fire.

Police managed to overpower the man, when, after dousing himself in petrol, he produced a cigarette lighter, following what officers described as a "horrifying stand-off''.

The little girls, aged six and 10, who had been splashed with fuel, were reported to be badly shaken, but otherwise unhurt.

The family group were found in a white transit van at Berwick Hills, Middlesbrough in the early hours of this morning.

The 32-year-old had doused himself with petrol and had a fuel can on his lap.

As Cleveland Police officers talked to him to try and calm him down, the man produced a cigarette lighter.

Quick reacting officers pulled him from the car, restrained and arrested him, before he could set himself and the children on fire.

Middlesbrough Police commander, Chief Supt Mark Braithwaite said: "We had been alerted earlier in the evening that a man in an agitated state had taken his children. But there was no indication of where he had gone or what vehicle he was in at that stage. It was shortly before midnight that we received information he was parked outside a relative's house and every effort was being made to bring the incident to a safe conclusion.''