A MAN who sparked a major police incident by arming himself with a knife before climbing onto a roof for a five-hour stand-off has been jailed.

James Gregory, 30, of no fixed address, climbed onto a roof in Hartington Road, Southend, on Wednesday after running away from police following an incident on the Kursaal estate.

He was locked up for 16 weeks after he admitted spouting “nonsensical” racist comments about Muslims from his rooftop perch.

Chief Insp Scott Cannon, Southend district commander, said it was a “difficult and long drawn out incident.”

He said: “It was an extremely hot day and a significant amount of resources were sent to ensure the wellbeing of the man and also to protect the public.

“It was through the professionalism, patience and negotiations skills of our officers that we managed to eventually ensure he came down and surrender himself to police custody without causing harm to himself or anybody else.”

The incident started at about 10am when police received calls that Gregory has assaulted a woman and was running around the Kursaal estate with a knife.

Police arrived but Gregory made off on foot and managed to climb onto a roof in nearby Hartington Road.

Mr Cannon said while on the roof he caused damage to three properties and hurled vile abuse at police officers.

He said: “He was also making derogatory and nonsensical racist comments about Muslims.”

Gregory spent nearly five hours on the roof, during which expert police negotiators tried to talk him down. Officers did not find a knife but they had been authorised to use Taser because they thought he was armed.

About 20 officers were deployed to the scene from Southend police station, as well as the force’s operational support group, fire and ambulance crews.

A trial at Basildon Crown Court was delayed because officers set to bring a defendant to the court were re-assigned to the rooftop stand-off.

Mr Cannon added: “My thanks go out to all the officers involved in this incident. I would also like to thank Det Con Mark Sawyer, who worked long hours to pull all the evidence together to ensure there was a conviction.”

Gregory appeared at Basildon Magistrates’ Court where he admitted criminal damage and a racially aggravated public order offence.

He was jailed for eight weeks and ordered to pay £500 compensation.

He also admitted making a threatening phone call on April 27, resulting in eight weeks jail time, making a total of 16 weeks.