Man arrested after knocking burglar who raided his home unconscious

Danny Crawford says his life remains 'in limbo' as police continue to investigate incident

Michael Carr was knocked unconscious after a burglary in Hull (Humberside Police)

A man who knocked out a burglar who raided his home spent a day in a cell and is now under investigation.

Danny Crawford, 38, said his pregnant partner Kate Fowler, 37, woke him up to say someone was in their Hull home on 27 December.

After spotting burglar Michael Carr fleeing the house with a bag of his family's possessions, including a Playstation 4 and a Samsung mobile, Mr Crawford gave chase wearing just a pair of boxer shorts and shoes.

"I shouted and he picked up the pace a bit and led me straight to his front door, which was down a little passageway," Mr Crawford said.

"I shouted 'give me the bag back'. He tried to get down the passageway. Then he turned round and came at me with his hands up. There was a small altercation and he came off worst."

He added: "I threw a punch at him to defend myself, luckily it knocked him unconscious. I picked my bag up and walked back to my house to my partner and the little one. I did what anyone else would have done."

Carr was jailed for 12 months earlier this week after admitting burglary. However, police also arrested Mr Crawford on suspicion of actual bodily harm over the incident.

Mr Crawford said his life has remained “in limbo” as police continue to investigate.

He said he told officers he had knocked Carr unconscious and then he was arrested.

"I was in disbelief. I was in shock. I spent 14 hours in a cell. They locked me up about 6am and I got home at 8pm the next night,” he said. "My partner is pregnant. We should be enjoying waiting for the next little one but it's been nothing but stress.

"It's been horrible not knowing what's coming. We have not been able to enjoy this year at all. I want to be able to move on and put this behind us. We didn't ask for this to happen. What I did was done in self-defence. It was 5am and I was barely clothed.

"All I wanted was to get my hard-earned possessions back. I've been constantly worrying about Kate and the baby. We're constantly worried about each other.

"It's been a horrible, horrible four months. I feel like my life's in limbo."

During Carr’s sentencing hearing at Hull Crown Court, his lawyer, Dale Brook, said: “It's clear he was badly beaten and I have no doubt many would think that was richly deserved, but it doesn't detract from the fact that was itself a form of punishment.

"He had to be taken in an ambulance to hospital and is described as being in not a good way by the police officers when they found him."

Jailing him, Judge Simon Jack said: "This is a sad story - for the occupier of that house, the lady woken up in the small hours of the morning by somebody, namely you, who had entered her home with the intention to steal."

A Humberside Police spokeswoman said: "We are continuing to investigate the circumstances of this incident so it would be inappropriate to comment on any individual’s involvement in that investigation or go into further detail."

She added the investigation is ongoing and appealed for anyone with further information to contact detectives.

A previous version of this story stated Danny Crawford was jailed for 12 months for burglary. It was in fact Michael Carr who received a 12-month sentence for this offence.