Jail for burglary victim who became a vigilante but tasered an innocent man

A wealthy businessman was jailed for three years yesterday after setting up a vigilante squad to take revenge on burglars who raided his luxury home . . . but getting the wrong man.

Shaun Dykes was said to have acted like a 'general overseeing his troops' when rounding up friends to help track down the gang behind the £40,000 burglary.

Dykes had claimed that police 'were doing nothing' to solve the crime and said: 'If I have to sort it out myself I will do,' a court heard.

Eventually, after contacting bodybuilding friends at local gyms to see if they knew who might be to blame, one of the burglars agreed to give back the stolen BMW, jewellery and laptop in return for £3,000.

A rendezvous was arranged in a pub car park, where Dykes and his friends sprang a trap.

Dykes produced a 300 volt stun gun and used it to zap a teenager accompanying the burglar when the pair got out of a taxi.

But, Preston Crown Court heard, Dykes's victim had nothing to do with the raid. John Knox, 18, had been told that the businessman was handing over cash for the sale of a car.

As the burglar ran off, Mr Knox fell to the ground in agony before being bound, gagged and blindfolded. He was driven to a remote country lane and held prisoner inside a van for up to four hours where he was tortured by Dykes who repeatedly zapped, kicked and punched him while demanding to know where his property was.

Mr Knox thought he was going to die, but was eventually dumped in a ditch.

After Dykes and an accomplice, Phillip Wright, were jailed, police warned the public about taking the law into their own hands.

Detective Inspector Gary Brooks, from Lancashire Police, said: "Whilst feeling sympathy for any victim of a house burglary the police will not tolerate members of the public handing out summary justice in an effort to find those responsible for the crime.

'The police regard the investigation of domestic burglary as a top priority and commit substantial resources to such criminality. There was never any police suspicion that the victim was in any way responsible for a burglary at Dykes's home address.

"Dykes and Wright maintained their innocence throughout this trial despite compelling CCTV evidence, evidence of identification and evidence found at Dykes's home."

The burglary took place last July at Dykes's £50,000 home in Rufford, near Ormskirk, Lancashire, while he was away with his girlfriend.

After seizing Mr Knox at the rendezvous at the Hayfield pub in Ormskirk, the roofing contractor repeatedly asked him who the burglar was and where the stolen property was being kept.

Amazingly, Mr Knox managed to escape and ran to a nearby house where he begged a woman for help.

Luxury: Shaun Dykes home which he protected with a vigilante squad

But Dykes turned up at the property moments later, grabbed Mr Knox by the collar and dragged him away, telling the stunned woman: "It's all right love  -  he just robbed my house."

Mr Knox was then frogmarched back to the van where he was driven around for a further hour before being left in the ditch. He suffered multiple bruising to his body but escaped serious injury.

In a statement, Mr Knox's family said: 'He is a quiet man and a very pleasant person and this incident has had a massive impact on his life.

"He suffers sleepless nights and is afraid to go out."

Richard Haworth, prosecuting, said: "Dykes commenced his own investigation and he took the law into his own hands. He was like a general overseeing his troops and exacted his revenge on the believed burglars. Unfortunately he identified the wrong person."

Dykes, 45, and Wright, also of Rufford, were both convicted of kidnap and false imprisonment by a unanimous verdict.

Wright, 25, a British Telecom engineer who was a former lodger of Dykes, was jailed for 18 months.