Man arrested for citizen's arrest

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/england/kent/8048807.stm

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A man who tried to carry out a citizen's arrest on youths who he said were attempting to break into allotment sheds was himself arrested by police.

Phil Hennessey, 44, was arrested in Medway on suspicion of assault and carrying a weapon, and bailed until July. He spent a night in custody.

He said he didn't expect to be detained and the incident had left him worried.

Det Insp Andy Pritchard said: "If there is an allegation of crime, we are duty-bound to investigate."

Mr Hennessey, who works at Chatham docks, said he chased the youngsters away from his allotment in Gillingham and tried to arrest one of them.

If I'm down here alone with my son and they turn up, what am I supposed to do? Phil Hennessey

He said he was trying to protect his property.

Mr Hennessey, who has a nine-year-old son, said: "It frightened the life out of me.

"I wasn't expecting to be arrested. I was expecting the guys that we chased to be arrested.

"It's worried me. If I'm down here alone with my son and they turn up, what am I supposed to do?"

Det Insp Andy Pritchard said: "We've received quite a number of allegations from quite a large number of people stating there is a serious allegation here of assault and the carrying of a weapon."

He said police procedure was to make an arrest and speak to the person as a suspect and then take into account what they say in interview.

He added: "We aren't going to discriminate on the basis of the age of the person reporting."

And he said actions taken in defence of property had to be reasonable.

"If it exceeds that mark, we have to consider that as a criminal offence," he said.