AS an eight-year-old boy, Jack Mitchell was held hostage in a terrifying siege in Ross-on-Wye.

In January 2002, along with his mum and three brothers, he was held hostage by his mum’s boyfriend at the time for 11 hours in a house in Ross.

Armed police rushed to the house and negotiated with the hostage-taker all night to give himself up, which he did and he was sent to jail in June of the same year.

Now Jack, who is 24, wants to find and speak to the officers who negotiated the situation.

He said: “I was just looking back at it. I remembered it the other day. It would be nice to find them. They got my family out of there. I would like to say thank you.”

The boyfriend of his mum had been drinking and he barricaded the doors of the home and armed himself with three knives.

He made threats to kill Jack’s mum and the children before he mutilated his own face.

He eventually let the hostages go one by one.

Jack said: “In the papers it doesn’t have the bit where he has held me and my brothers and held a knife to my mum’s throat and said she’s first and you’re last.”

The court case heard that the defendant held a knife in each hand and tucked a third in his waistband.

Jack said: “I think I was confused more than anything. I was only young and I didn’t quite get what was going on.

“It was scary. It has been quite a while. It wasn’t exactly a nice night.

“I think I was the last one to leave the house as well. My mum was pushed out of the window.”

When they were released from the house they went to hospital.

Jack said: “We got put onto a protection programme. We got moved around a lot. It was quite annoying. We would get used to people and then have to move away somewhere else.”

He wants to find the police officers who helped his family that night as he wants to be able to thank them directly. Were you involved in the siege? Call the Hereford Times on 01432 845883 or email rca@herefordtimes.com.