Eric faces arrest threat for rescuing 'scrap' crutches

But he was stunned when police arrived on his doorstep the next day and threatened to arrest him for theft.

Staff at Ravenfield tip had reported the “theft” of the crutches, after the 77-year-old took them from a scrap metal skip and said he would take them back to the Red Cross.

“I was disgusted,” he said. “I expected the officer to be sympathetic to what I was trying to do.

“Instead, she said: ‘You must take them back immediately or I will most likely be visiting you tomorrow and you could be arrested and taken to the station to be charged with theft.’

“When the police tell you do something you do it, so I took them straight back but it is just ridiculous.

“The crutches were in excellent condition. I couldn’t understand why they were in the scrap metal at all.”

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Mr Beckett said that he had pointed out his find to a member of staff but had been told: “If it’s in there, it’s scrap.”

He claims he was not to remove them from the site and pointed out that his car was being filmed by security cameras.

A defiant Mr Beckett, of Hamilton Road, Maltby, drove away with the crutches in his car and contacted the Red Cross.

But before he had a chance to hand them over to the charity, the pensioner received his surprise visit from the police.

“I took them back but I still couldn’t bring myself to put them in the scrap metal skip,” he said.

“All I was trying to do was trying to help someone else.”

Colin Fletcher, of Waste Recycling Group (WRG), insisted that once something was left at a household waste recycling centre, it had to be treated as waste. 

“It would be potentially dangerous to allow people to take any item from the recycling centre as we would have no understanding of its previous history. 

“All waste management companies have to comply with strict environmental legislation and if something is removed without permission our procedures require us to notify the police.”

A police spokesman confirmed that they had received a report of “the theft of the crutches.”

She added: “An officer, following procedure, dealt with the complaint and spoke to Mr Beckett.

“It became clear that he was merely being public spirited and wanted to do a good deed.

“He was advised that if he returned the items, no further action would be taken.

“Officers who know Mr Beckett, who has been involved with organising funds to carry out activities for local children, have visited him and spoken about what happened.”

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