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A rugby coach offered himself as a hostage to a man allegedly holding a broken bottle at the neck of a 14-year-old girl.
Twenty-year-old Lee Nelmes was coaching the Nelson College under-15 rugby team on Sunday when he noticed a man behaving strangely and walking around the field.
The man then picked up a bottle and broke it and allegedly threatened some of the rugby players with it.
Mr Nelmes called the police to alert them to the man's behaviour.
Shortly after the call a police patrol, unaware of the unfolding situation, drove past the area - which seemed to spook the man, Mr Nelmes said.
"He started running down the road, but then veered towards a park bench where these two girls were sitting."
The man then grabbed one of the girls, put her in a headlock and held the broken bottle to her face.
The man warned Mr Nelmes and the rugby players to stay away and said: "If you come any closer I'll stab her in the face - she's as good as dead." Mr Nelmes said: "He was real panicky."
Meanwhile, some of the rugby team had flagged down the police car.
"I just kept negotiating with him to let her go and saying, 'She's just a girl, you're making a scene. You've got more chance just letting her go and running'."
The girl was begging to be let go and was pleading with Mr Nelmes to help, he said.
So Mr Nelmes offered to go in the girl's place.
"I started walking towards him and he pushed her away and grabbed me at the same time.
"My plan was to get the girl out of there - I thought it was better off me being in the situation rather than her."
Mr Nelmes said he knew he could overpower him because the man was not wearing shoes and it was a muddy rugby field.
"So I knew that a little push or pull and he would just fall over."
By this stage the police officer had arrived, so Mr Nelmes felt safe to trip the man and after a moment wrestling on the ground he pulled himself free, but the man still had the bottle in his hand.
The officer sprayed the man with pepper spray, but the man was so agitated it had no effect on him.
While he was distracted by the officer, Mr Nelmes tackled him from behind and wrenched the bottle from his hand.
The officer was then able to put the man in handcuffs.
Mr Nelmes said his rugby team were calling him their hero.
"They came up giving me high-fives and pats on the back."
His mum was also "pretty proud - very proud actually".
A man has appeared in Nelson District Court charged with kidnapping, assault with a weapon, possession of an offensive weapon, assaulting police, and wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
He was remanded in custody until August 20.
- NZPA
