A man admitted using a rope to bind a teenage boy from his shoulders to his ankles and detaining him against his will overnight after discovering that his mobile home had been burgled.

Donald Fisher, 55, and his wife were returning to their camper van in Brighouse after an evening with friends last April when they saw three people stood next to it.

Giving evidence, he told Bradford Crown Court how he caught one of them with a rugby tackle.

He described how he then grappled with the boy before putting an arm across his face as he called out for his friends.

After the struggle, Fisher said he took the teenager, a 15-year-old boy, into the camper van.

He told the court he did not know what he was going to do with him after discovering his home had been "completely ransacked". But he said he decided to tie him up with a 20ft piece of rope when the teenager began to behave violently.

After tying both hands together behind his back, Fisher wrapped the rope around the teenager's body from his shoulders to his ankles.

Asked by his barrister Stephen Wood what effect that had on the boy, Fisher replied: "He sat down on the settee. He was not pleased but he accepted it."

He told the jury he untied him after 45 minutes when he was able to stay inside the van.

Fisher said his wife later gave the teenager something to eat and drink during the night while they listened to the radio. He said he kept the boy against his will inside the van until the following morning when they were taken to a police station.

He made a complaint against the teenager, saying he had been responsible for damaging his property. But Fisher later discovered he was under arrest on suspicion of false imprisonment.

He told the jury he did not feel safe in the camper van that night, knowing one of the two other men who had been with the teenager stole his axe.

Fisher also added that he could not call the police because his mobile phone did not work.

The teenager - who cannot be identified for legal reasons - was found to have a phone. But Fisher did not know how to use it and did not allow the boy to use it in case he called his friends. Fisher denied punching, kicking, hitting, stamping or sitting on the boy.

Under cross-examination, he said he only realised he had been holding a teenager after he had tied him up.

He told the court he did not believe the teenager had been the ringleader when his home was burgled.

But Fisher admitted keeping him against his will all night. He added he had only detained the teenager, believing he would give information to the police about the other two men. Asked if he was justified in detaining the teenager for eight hours, he said: "In the circumstances, I thought I was."

Fisher also believed he did not have any other option but to do what he did on that night.

Fatima Bertal-Fisher, his 29-year-old wife, denied making a threat to stab the teenager or blind him in the eyes with a spray.

She described how she cried when she saw "a mess everywhere" in the van and asked the boy why he had done it. Bertal-Fisher said the boy told them he was sorry but added it was not his fault.

Asked if they had used any violence towards the teenager, she replied: "Not at all."

Fisher and Bertal-Fisher, both of Owler Ings Road, Brighouse, have pleaded not guilty to false imprisonment.

Fisher also denies assault occasioning actual bodily harm while Bertal-Fisher denies common assault.

The trial continues.