Man runs after his stolen truck

Aaron Hurst retrieved his van. Photo / Pam Johnson

A have-a-go hero who spotted a thief stealing his prized truck ran out in his socks and wrestled the alleged suspect out of the cab.

Engineer Aaron Hurst, 37, was watching TV at his home in Rangiora, North Canterbury, Friday night when he heard his Daihatsu truck start up.

"I poked my head out of the lounge window and saw it going up the road. My wife [Kirsty] said, 'ring the police'.

"I said, 'I'm not doing that'. I grabbed her car keys and took off after the truck," said Hurst.

Hurst soon caught up with the alleged thief, a 16-year-old, who couldn't get the truck out of second gear and only managed to reach 10km/h.

He said: "I saw him lock the door. I tried opening the door and told him to let me in.

"He gave me the fingers. That upset me a little bit."

Hurst broke the window, unlocked the door and jumped in. The pair wrestled in the passenger seat and the gear flicked into neutral during the struggle.

Both of them fell out of the vehicle and on to the road. The Daihatsu came to a rolling stop.

Hurst hauled the 16-year-old back to his wife's car. Residents had called the police.

A 16-year-old appeared in the Christchurch District Court yesterday, and was remanded in custody.