A GUNMAN who pleaded with police to kill him during a two-hour “Wild West” armed stand-off has been jailed.

Jailing him for four years and nine months, Judge Jason Taylor QC said Scott Symonds had left even a former Royal Marine-turned police sergeant terrified for their safety. 20 homes were evacuated, roads closed and two pubs being put on lock down.

The shoot-out, which began as a domestic dispute with the 31-year-old’s mum over music being played too loudly, resulted in the woman suffering a heart attack as police officers ducked behind cars to avoid being shot at.

More than 35 officers were called to the incident in Darling Close, Stratton, including 25 beat bobbies, armed police, a dog unit, four sergeants and an inspector. It resulted in police officers having to be brought in from elsewhere to deal with 999 calls – and Wiltshire Police left unable to respond to some high priority reports.

Prosecuting, Hannah Squire said police were called on August 28 at 7.30pm by Scott Symonds’ mum. When officers PC Nicholas Finning and PC Craig Head they found Karen Symonds outside. She told them: “You’re going to need more of you than this.”

The pair went into the house. But they fled when they heard a gun being cocked at Symonds emerge with a weapon. As the officers ducked Symonds’ shots requested help they were forced to perform CPR on his stricken mum.

Sgt Nathan Perry, a former Royal Marine, was one of the next on scene. He saw Symonds smashing a window and pointing a pistol into the street. Ms Squire said: “He saw a muzzle flash on one of these guns and that was aimed in his direction. He was terrified.”

Thanks to Sgt Perry’s experience he was able to say the guns were not firing live rounds. Armed police used baton rounds – designed for riot control – rather than real bullets.

A two-hour stand off ensued. Symonds video-called his cousin, boasting that he was “having a gun fight with the police”.

Symonds, who fired 20 rounds, begged officers to kill him. When he was finally brought to heel, Symonds was found to have four imitation firearms: an AK-47 replica, decommissioned Uzi and two pistols capable of firing blanks.

Symonds, who cheerily looked around him as he sat in the Swindon Crown Court dock, admitted possession of imitation firearms with intent to resist arrest and criminal damage.

Rob Ross, defending, said his client suffered from a split personality disorder but despite having been held in prison on remand since the siege had not been seen by the in-house psychiatry service. He said: “It is apparent there was something wrong when this man was a kid. His sister and his mother stand by him because they know he’s been like that since the year dot. They all want help for him. He wants help.”

The case was an unusual one, the lawyer added: “Usually, they don’t come to court because usually the perpetrator dies. I have been doing this job a very long time and I’ve never come across a situation where someone has behaved in the way he did that evening with what was clearly an avowed intention to guile the police into killing him.”

Jailing him for the August offences and an earlier assault on an emergency worker for which he had previously received a community order, Judge Taylor said: “It is accepted this is a serious offence. Multiple imitation firearms were produced. They were visible and they were discharged. This was a prolonged incident involved significant police resources and inconvenience to residents.”