A CHARD man who told a police call handler he was “armed to high heavens” and was threatening to kill his partner unless an armed response unit was sent to his address narrowly avoided being sent straight to jail.

The terrified victim had previously made a 999 call to report a domestic incident, but the phone went dead and Martin Alan Higgins rang back and started to make the threats.

He said his partner had taken an overdose and that he was armed with live weapons and when the police arrived they were “going to die”.

Higgins, 25, of Coles Place, admitted that on April 15 at Chard he made a phone call to police which conveyed a threat for the purpose of causing distress or anxiety to the recipient.

At Somerset Magistrates at Yeovil, he was sentenced to a 12-week prison sentence, suspended for 24 months. He also must take part in a 35-day Rehabilitation Activity Requirement, carry out 180 hours of unpaid work, pay costs of £85 and a £115 victim surcharge.

At a previous court hearing prosecutor Christine Hart said a police call handler had a phone call from a female reporting a domestic incident.

“She could tell by looking at the address that the person being reported was Higgins and while talking to her she heard a male come into the room and said “You’re calling the police,” she said.

“The female said she would put the phone down and the call handler then heard something smash and the female made a groaning noise before the phone went dead.”

Higgins phoned back and said: “There’s police downstairs, need to send armed response and an ambulance. She’s upset and has taken an overdose.

“I’m about to kill someone and when the cops come they are going to die.

“I’m armed with firearms to high heavens. They took my air rifles, I’ve got live weapons.

“Send f***ers right now or I will kill her.

“Do you understand?”

The call handler tried to talk to Higgins but he was shouting over her and put the phone down.

Officers attended and shouted at the defendant to open the door but he told them to f*** off and said the next person to come through the door would die and he would kill them. Higgins was arrested.

When Higgins was interviewed by police he said he suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and his mood level had been low.

He accepted it had been him speaking on the phone and said he recalled making the call but not the threats that were made.

“He said he made the threats to give him some time to calm down as he was level 10 in terms of anxiety and was protecting himself as well as the officers,” said Miss Hart.

In mitigation, Chris Ivory said that Higgins had a diagnosed personality disorder and PTSD having spent four years serving in the Armed Forces.

“He has little recollection of what actually occurred however takes full responsibility for what he said and expresses regret for his actions and remorse for the distress caused,” he said.

“He is now following a care plan to address his PTSD and the impact of custody would be the potential loss of his accommodation and the effect on his partner who also has mental health issues, and it could render her homeless too.”