A FARMER hogtied two lads he caught trespassing on his land, slung them on his quad bike and drove them four miles to a police station.
But Neil Greenwood, 52, was the one hauled in for questioning by cops after he was arrested for false imprisonment and assault.
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Stunned officers marched him into the nick to be quizzed under caution as they raced to untie his two terrified victims.
Extraordinary images showed the lads, aged 17 and 20, trussed up “like rabbits” across the front and back of the quad bike.
Last night, one of them spoke of the alleged moment the farmer snapped after catching them on his land.
Shaken Leland Hornby, 17, told The Sun: “My mate had been riding his electric bike across the farmer’s field the night before.
“He went to leave but the farmer had locked the gates so he left his bike there overnight.
“We went back the next morning to get it but it wasn’t there.
“As we walked back the farmer came up behind us, jumped off his quad bike and tackled us to the ground.
“I tried running off but he chased me down.
“He tied us up, pulled our hoods over our heads, threw us onto the quad bike and took us to the police station.
“We were bound by our hands and feet. We couldn’t move. I was on the back of the quad bike and my friend at the front.
“He said he was going to drive us to the bottom of a lane. I was scared of what he might do.”
Leland, who works in construction, said he and his pal were flung onto the bike but not strapped down.
He went on: “We almost fell off a couple of times. We shouted at him and he just replied ‘let me know when you’ve fallen off’.”
Greenwood drove the pals from his farm in Trawden, Lancashire, to the nearest police station in Colne after taking the law into his own hands on Sunday.
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CCTV pictures caught the moment the quad bike raced through the streets.
But moments after arriving at the police station, Greenwood was himself arrested by officers.
Leland’s mum said: “They were frightened to death. Absolutely terrified. The pair of them have nearly fallen off the quad bike.
“I’m really upset about the whole thing. He’s disgusting for what he’s done.
I was scared of what he might do.
Leland Hornby
“Phone the police by all means, if they’re trespassing, but don’t take matters into your own hands and hogtie them.”
Greenwood has since been bailed pending further investigation.
A spokeswoman for Lancashire Police said: “We were called to a remote property in Trawden at 11.26am on Sunday by a man who said he had detained two males.
“While police were making their way to the property, we received a second call from the man to say he was now at Colne Police Station with the two males he had detained.
“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.
“They were not secured to the quad bike.
“A 52-year-old man from Trawden was later arrested on suspicion of false imprisonment and assault.
“He has since been released on bail pending further enquiries.”
Greenwood was back on his farm yesterday but declined to comment when approached by The Sun.
