A man facing eviction forced a tense stand-off yesterday when he refused to leave his home and threatened instead to burn it down.

But an end to the two-hour stand-off was skilfully negotiated by senior Police officers.

Police were able to enter the small one-bedroom house owned by the Bermuda Housing Corporation at noon after persuading the man to leave the premises.

Bailiffs called the Police just before 10 a.m. when it became apparent that the man, Caesar Graham, had no intention of leaving voluntarily and had doused the kitchen with gasoline.

"At about 9.45 we got a report of a male that had barricaded himself inside the premises as a result of a bailiff/BHC dispute," said Chief Insp. Anthony Mouchette.

"He barricaded himself in, locked the doors and more or less rigged it."

A fire truck, an ambulance, members of the Police bomb squad and several regular officers arrived on the scene and a portion of North Shore Road was blocked off within minutes.

"In their attempts to have Mr. Graham evicted, he locked the doors and then set up some candles along with some gasoline," Chief Insp. Mouchette said.

"On my arrival I could clearly smell gasoline. I could see candles and there was some indication that gasoline was poured throughout the entire house."

But the gasoline was confined to the kitchen area. Chief Insp. Mouchette, one of the main negotiators, said Mr. Graham acknowledged that he owed money to the BHC but produced receipts to show that he had been making payments and had made a payment in May.

He eventually agreed to come out after being persuaded that he would get to tell his side of the story at a scheduled court appearance.

At one point during the stand-off, Chief Insp. Mouchette said the man had agreed to be interviewed by the media.

But some 15 minutes later the door to the house swung open and officers including Chief Insp. Mouchette went in.

Mr. Graham was arrested, handcuffed and taken to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital for evaluation.

Chief Insp. Mouchette was able to establish that Mr. Graham had about $9,900 of debt on BHC's books, of which $3,000 were believed to be lawyers' fees.

"It looks as if he does have a gripe," Chief. Insp. Mouchette said.

"He had made payments of $4,000. He indicated he was $6,000 in arrears, but documents showed $9,900 and it's believed at least $3,000 are lawyers' fees."

Mr. Graham spent much of Mr. Graham spent much of the two hours seated several feet away from his front door, with a lighter in his hand. A bowl of liquid, believed to be gasoline, was stuck through the door window and there were three lit candles near the door, against which was a suitcase which turned out to be empty.

And he had drenched several towels with gasoline, Chief Insp. Mouchette said. "I took it to be serious," he added.

Talks between Mr. Graham and the Police centred on his dispute with BHC - with the man passing documents out to show that he had been making attempts to pay up.

"He just wanted people to understand his story," Chief Insp. Mouchette said. "He said he was making attempts to pay and I saw that he was making attempts to pay."

Asked how he managed to persuade him to leave the house, Chief Insp. Mouchette said: "We just told him there was a court date and he could give his side of the story at that time."

But Chief Insp. Mouchette added that Mr. Graham will be charged in relation to yesterday's incident.

A number of BHC staffers who had showed up to attend what they thought would be a routine eviction, were clearly distressed by the incident - as were officials from the bailiff's department - but were relieved that it had ended without any injuries.

"This is not a good thing," said a bailiff during the stand-off, declining further comment. None of the BHC staffers at the scene would talk to the media.

Housing Minister Terry Lister could not be reached for comment yesterday.