Brave father thwarts four masked burglars trying to break

Brave father thwarts four masked burglars trying to break into his home to steal his new £30,000 Audi Q3 then chases them over a fence and pins one down until police arrive

• Four men melted uPVC door handle to pry open the lock of Gareth Miller's home
• The father heard the commotion downstairs and he then smelled burning plastic
• He ran to confront the men but they all scarpered off over a fence into next door
• Mr Miller chased and pinned one of the men down in Redbook, South Yorkshire
• A father thwarted a gang of burglars after they used a blowtorch to break into his home to try and steal the keys to his brand new £30,000 Audi Q3.
  The four men melted a uPVC door handle to pry open the lock but were startled when Gareth Miller came downstairs to find them huddled in the garden.
  Mr Miller then ran after the group as they scarpered, chasing them over a fence and pinning one of them down until police arrived at about 2.30am on Saturday night. 
  Speaking afterwards, Mr Miller, 43, said he was awoken by a noise coming from downstairs and could smell burning plastic as he came down the stairs. 
  

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  The four men melted a uPVC door handle (left) to pry open the lock before one of them was pinned down (right) by Gareth Miller  

  'At that point I had my shoes on so I ran out of the front door and round the side of the house to the back garden.

  'Two jumped over a garden fence - the other two went somewhere else - and I jumped over the fence after them.

  

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  Mr Miller (pictured with his wife Chelsea) said he was awoken by a noise coming from downstairs and could smell burning plastic as he came down the stairs

  'It's about six feet that fence so a decent fence to climb. They were going over the next fence but I grabbed him by the scruff of the throat and threw him to the floor.

  'I held him on the floor with my hand and knee, pulled his mask off and then dragged him round the front of the house to wait for the police.'

  The police arrived within five or ten minutes and arrested the suspect.

  Gareth's wife Chelsea, who he lives with in Redbrook, South Yorkshire, said: 'I was terrified when he ran out of the front door. You don't know if they've got a knife.

  'One of the neighbours said they saw one of them with a crowbar.' As he got put in the car he shouted "I'm going to burn your house down".' 

  'We'll cross that bridge when we come to it,' added Mr Miller. 'It's your house. You've got your wife and kids inside, it's common sense to go out and confront them.'

  Three men were arrested