A farmer who allegedly caught two men trespassing on his land then hogtied them to his quad bike and sped them to the police station has been hailed a hero online.
The farmer, 52, had strapped two lads, aged 17 and 20, across the front and back of his vehicle before driving them four miles to the cops.
But instead of quizzing the pair on the alleged trespass, they marched him in for questioning and later arrested him for false imprisonment and assault.
Today, one of the lads revealed the details behind the terrifying incident that saw them tied to the quad bike and raced from the farm in Lancashire, to a nearby police station on Sunday.
Leland Hornby, 17, told The Sun that his pal had been riding his electric bike across the farmer’s field on Saturday night but when he went to leave, found the farmer had locked the gates.
His mate then decided to leave his bike on the property overnight where he would pick it up in the morning.
But upon the lad’s return to the farm – the bike seemed to have vanished.
‘As we walked back the farmer came up behind us, jumped off his quad bike and tackled us to the ground,’ Hornby told the newspaper.
The pair attempted to outrun furious farmer but he managed to capture both of them while pulling their hoods over their heads before bounding them to his quad bike by their hands and feet.
‘We couldn’t move. I was on the back of the quad bike and my friend at the front,’ Hornby said, revealing he he was ‘scared’ of what the farmer might do.
The teen said he and his friend were flung over the vehicle, but not securely strapped down, leaving them almost falling off a couple of times throughout the journey to the police station.
Shocking CCTV images captured the moment the quad bike raced through the winding streets before arriving at the nick.
But upon their bizarre arrival – the farmer was arrested by police.
Speaking to the newspaper, Hornby’s mum said: ‘They were frightened to death. Absolutely terrified. The pair of them have nearly fallen off the quad bike’.
She said the events had left her upset, and baffled as to why the farmer had reacted in such an extreme way instead of just calling the police.
A spokeswoman for Lancashire Police said they were called to a property on Sunday by a man who said he had detained two males.
But as police made their way to the farm, the farmer called a second time to announce he had arrived at a local police station with the pair.
‘When officers went to meet the man, they found a teenager and a man in his 20s on a quad bike with their hands and feet tied,’ she said.
‘They were not secured to the quad bike’.
Following the incident and arrest however, several internet users took to social media to hail the farmer a hero for his actions.
Under a post showing the two males tied on the back and front of the quad bike, one Facebook user said: ‘Brilliant! And I hope to see more of this in the future!’
Another added: ‘Vigilante justice!’
One more commented: ‘Excellent! Shame we can’t see the faces!’
The farmer was later arrested on suspicion of false imprisonment and assault but has since been released on bail pending further enquiries.