A MOTORIST ‘bundled’ a young boy into his car and drove him to a police station after a snowball was thrown at his vehicle.

Twelve-year-old Danny Aspinall said he was the victim of mistaken identity after the man blamed him for hitting his car as he drove through Rishton.

But the youngster’s grandad hit out at the man saying that police should have taken action against him for ‘resorting to extremes’.

Police said that while no criminal offence had taken place the man had been advised that in future he should call for assistance and wait for them to arrive.

Danny, of Norden View, Rishton, said he was with friends in a car park next to Auberge restaurant on High Street, when some of them threw snowballs over a low wall at passing cars.

The driver got out to confront them and his friends ran off but Danny said he couldn’t run as fast due to his asthma and tried instead to explain.

He said: “I had only thrown a couple at my mates, and when they threw one at a car, I did think it was dangerous.

"They all started running off when a man got out of his car, but I couldn’t run.

"I was trying to tell him it wasn’t me, but he pushed me into the back of his car.

“He was really angry and I was scared. He had his daughter in the car, she looked about nine, and he was saying how they could have been in a crash.

“He didn’t listen to me when I tried to explain, and he grabbed me by the jacket and took me into the police station.”

After a short chat in a police interview room, the Norden Primary School pupil was taken home by two officers.

Danny’s grandad, Steven Wood, 57, who is Hyndburn Borough Council’s dog warden, said: “I’ve been to many community safety meetings and area councils and I’ve never heard anyone say that it is acceptable to bundle a youngster into a car.

"I think it’s very worrying that something like this can happen. However when I spoke to police they said the man was within his rights.

“Danny is very mild mannered and it could have easily been handled without resorting to extremes.

"Even if he had thrown the snowball, it would have been an over reaction.

“If it had been me, and I had been so shaken up then I would have shouted at the kids, or called the police.”

Danny, who lives with his grandad, mum Nicola Wood and his sister, added: “The police were okay, they weren’t angry or anything, but they wouldn’t listen when I told them it wasn’t me.

"They just told me that it can be dangerous to throw snowballs at cars.”

Mr Wood, who helped set up the Friends of Rishton Youth charity some years ago, added: “He has nerve damage in his arm and can’t throw that far, but obviously things with his friends got a bit out of hand.

"It’s not surprising as there is absolutely nothing for kids to do in Rishton.”

A police spokesperson said: “A member of the public reported four youths throwing snowballs at his car and other moving vehicles to Great Harwood police station as he was concerned about the potential of this causing an accident.

“The snowballs contained small amounts of stone and grit and the driver also thought his car had been damaged. He detained one of the youngsters involved and took him to the police station.

“The driver was spoken to in relation to putting the youngster in his car and advised that the correct course of action would have been to detain him at the scene and await arrival of police officers.

“The examination of the vehicle confirmed there was no damage and the youngster was taken home by a police officer where the officer spoke with his parents.”

The spokesperson said that no criminal offences had taken place.