Police said they shut down an Aberystwyth street for seven hours after a man who appeared to be “in mental distress” and “under the influence of alcohol and drugs” started throwing objects out of a window at passers-by.

Officers went to a property near the town’s clock tower at the top of Great Darkgate Street at around 12pm last Tuesday, to arrest 22-year-old Leo James Burton, who was at a window on the building on the left, for breaching a court order.

Police said that on arrival, Burton seemed to be "under the influence of alcohol and drugs” and “became abusive and agitated by the police presence”.

“He made threats to harm himself and others, throwing objects out the window at passers-by,” a police spokesperson said.

The area around the clock tower was cordoned off by police “to protect members of the public”, with roads partially closed at Pier Street, Castle Street and New Street to seal off the area while officers dealt with the incident.

Police said the roads were “closed to ensure the safety and members of the public” because Burton was “in mental distress”.

Police advised residents at the time to avoid the area, and after a seven-hour stand-off the matter was “brought to a safe resolution”, police said, and Burton was arrested.

He appeared before Aberystwyth magistrates on Wednesday.

Burton, whose address was given in court as The Wallich, 9 Corporation Street, Aberystwyth, was sent to jail for 14 days for breaching the court order following an imprisonment for assault, possessing an offensive weapon in a public place, threatening behaviour, violent behaviour at a police station, and three counts of assaulting an emergency worker.

Burton breached the order by “failing to reside as approved”, failed to attend appointments for drug testing, and on 15 June “behaved in a way that undermined the good behaviour condition of post sentence supervision”.

Burton admitted the breach at the hearing, and was ordered to pay costs of £60.

He was not charged over the seven-hour-long incident.