Man accused of brandishing knife and barricading house with toddler inside

A man has appeared in court over an alleged hostage situation which saw a street locked down for several hours.

Ryan Martin is said to have been armed with a knife and locked himself in a property while a three-year-old girl was present.

He pled not guilty to three charges when he appeared in the dock at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court on Tuesday.

The 38-year-old, of Ardrossan, Ayrshire, is alleged to have behaved in a threatening or abusive way at a property in Cathkin Place, Kilwinning, on Monday, November 10, 2025.

Court papers state he attended uninvited, loitered, refused to leave and locked himself within the property.

The first charge also states he “refused to allow police entry to check on the well-being” of the three-year-old, who can’t be identified for legal reasons.

The charge states he also shouted, swore, brandished a knife, built a barricade and made threats of violence, in breach of Section 38(1) of the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010.

He faces a second charge of culpable and reckless conduct after allegedly endangering police officers by throwing pieces of glass at them.

He faces a third charge of wilfully or recklessly destroying or damaging property, by repeatedly striking and damaging windows, doors and blinds, and damaging a mobile phone.

He pled not guilty to all three charges during the hearing before Sheriff George Jamieson.

Trial and pre-trial hearings were scheduled for later this year and he was remanded in custody.

Martin was detained after police officers, firefighters and paramedics were called to Kilwinning on Monday.

Three police cars, three police vans, a fire engine, a number of firefighters and an ambulance were spotted at the scene, in the Whitehurst Park area of the town.

Cathkin Place was sealed off, with a cordon in place, and two officers in high-visibility uniforms standing at the cordon.

A lane joining Cathkin Place to Prestonfield Avenue was also sealed off.

At the time, Kilwinning councillor Donald Reid said on Facebook: “Ongoing incident Prestonfield Ave area of Kilwinning.

“Please avoid the area currently. Any further updates will be posted by Police Scotland.”