Rapist who held family hostage at knifepoint is jailed

A rapist who held a woman and four young children hostage at knifepoint has been jailed for 23 years.

David Watts, 40, from Ramsbury, was sentenced at Bristol Crown Court after being found guilty of five offences.

When officers arrived a girl was stood in the window holding a note saying "break in, he is trying to stab us".

Watts was convicted of false imprisonment, three counts of raping a child under the age of 13 and sexual assault on a child under the age of 13.

Wiltshire Police were called to an address in Ramsbury in the early hours of 13 June by a young girl who said Watts was armed with a knife and was behaving in a threatening manner.

While she was speaking to a call handler, Watts, who had locked all the doors and the windows, snatched the phone away from her.

When police arrived, officers forced entry to an upstairs bedroom and found three girls sitting on a bed crying, with Watts holding a knife to the throat of a woman holding a toddler.

A Taser was used to incapacitate Watts by PC Chris Miller who suffered a broken bone in his hand and knife wounds while making the arrest.

PC Miller and special constable Dave Turner were praised for their bravery during the trial by the judge.

Watts was jailed on Tuesday for 23 years, with five years extended licence.

Det Supt Ben Mant, head of the police's public protection department, also praised the officers for the way they handled a "volatile and violent man" with "no thought for their own safety".

"They had just seconds to make decisions, including how to apprehend Watts when he was holding a knife to the throat of a woman carrying a small child," he said.

Det Con Leannda Benfield paid tribute to the victims for their bravery in speaking to police about what happened.

"Not only was the night itself an incredibly frightening and traumatic incident, but there had also been previous occasions of sexual abuse," she said.