A MAN who said he would shoot down a police helicopter in Selby will stay behind bars until he is sentenced.

Craig Woodall, 23, threatened to kill police officers and members of the public during a series of 999 calls in the early hours of Saturday April 4.

Police were called to the Selby Swing Bridge at 3.52am, while trained negotiators, ambulance and fire crews were on standby.

Woodall was eventually found in Thief Lane, Barlow, at 7.15am.

He appeared before York Magistrates’ Court, after admitting threatening to kill police and members of the public as well as wasting police time.

Martin Hawes, prosecuting, said: “The defendant threatened to shoot police officers and members of the public.”

Among the phone calls, Woodall said “he was going to kill everyone”, that “police were going to die tonight” and that he was going to kill himself, the court heard.

In another call, he said: “If you send the police helicopter, I am going to shoot it down.”

Mr Hawes added: “He threatened that he was capable of it.

“In a call at 6.05am, he said ‘you don’t need to be worried about me’ because he knew what was going to happen.”

Woodall also said he could see police officers on the bridge, that he had taken drugs and that he had a 50mm weapon.

When police finally located Woodall in Thief Lane, Barlow, he was found to be unarmed.

He was taken to hospital where he was assessed by the mental health department. Kristian Cavanagh, mitigating, described Woodall as “vulnerable” and applied for him to be released to his father’s home on bail.

Mr Cavanagh said: “The defendant had been drinking. There was no weapon found. He said it was just bravado, a cry for help.”

He added that Woodall’s mental state had deteriorated while he had been staying with his girlfriend for a few weeks before the incident.

Woodall, of Main Street, Hillam, was remanded in custody until May 1 for pre-sentence reports.