A relative of young children who were allegedly cable tied by a tradie after they were caught swimming in a backyard pool said she was ‘pushed away’ by the man when she tried to intervene.
Shocking footage posted to Facebook showed a six-year-old girl, seven-year-old boy and an eight-year-old boy in tears with their hands tied together outside a Conkerberry Road home near Cable Beach in Broome, Western , on Tuesday afternoon.
It is believed the tradie, 45, had been working at the house for a local air-conditioning company and discovered the children swimming in a pool at the home.
The six-year-old girl and the seven-year-old boy were bound with cable ties at the Broome property on Tuesday afternoon
A fourth boy had also been in the pool but managed to flee and alert family members to what was going on.
A woman, who is related to the little girl and the seven-year-old boy, livestreamed the shocking ordeal and said the tradie refused to let them go.
‘When we tried to walk in there to get them he pushed me and my mum out of the yard,’ she told the West n.
‘When we pulled up there, and when that man was pushing me out of the gate… the little (eight-year-old) boy snapped the cable ties with his hands and then he just jumped over the fence and ran down the road.
‘It was just upsetting, we were so angry with (the tradie) just shouting at him, telling him to let them go but he just didn’t want to listen to us.’
The relative said the man kept saying he was ‘waiting for police’ to arrive.
She said one of the kids also claimed the man told them he was going to ‘hit them with a big stick’.
The tradie who allegedly tied up the children (pictured) has been arrested
St John Ambulance paramedics assessed the children, who have since been reunited with their family.
Western Police confirmed a man was arrested and charged with three counts of aggravated assault.
Police were initially called to the property over reports of trespassing.
‘The man, from Broome, was taken into custody, interviewed over the matter and charged,’ Western Police said.
‘It is alleged the force used to restrain the children was not proportionate in the circumstances.’
He was granted bail and is due to appear in court at a later date.
The local air-conditioning company has since been subjected to online abuse and one-star Google ratings.
An earlier photo on Facebook showed a third child tied up (pictured)
One witness Leandra McKenzie said the children were distressed and calling out for their mum.
‘They were frightened, they were crying, shaking and singing out for their mum,’ she said.
‘It would have been over an hour it was . . . we were yelling at him to tell them to release them . . . but he just wouldn’t give up.’
The witness claimed the children were tied up for as long as an hour, on a day when temperatures soared to 33C.
The relative said the children knew it was wrong to enter the property but said they were ‘just kids’ and were trying to cool down on a hot day.
The kids were restrained for about an hour on a day when temperatures soared to 33C