A drunk man who stripped and set himself on fire on a filling station forecourt was released without charge after being arrested by West Yorkshire Police officers.
Several national newspaper websites featured CCTV footage which they claimed was recorded at a Shell garage in Hunslet, on the outskirts of Leeds, West Yorkshire, at around 2am on August 23.
However, Forecourt Trader contacted both Shell garages in Hunslet and each denied the incident occurred at their site.
The footage shows the unnamed drunk man grabbing a petrol hose and wiping fuel on his trousers before setting them on fire with a lighter.
Seconds later, he pulls his trousers, which are still on fire, down around his ankles, and does a bizarre dance before returning to the pump and trying to squirt more fuel over his bare legs.
A worker approaches and puts the flames out with an extinguisher, but the man then tries to get fuel from several other hoses, and the assistant had to spray him several times.
When two police officers arrive the man approaches one pointing a pump at them, and the other officer wrestles him to the ground.
West Yorkshire Police confirmed the man was arrested but was later released without charge.
A friend of the man, who was present, is quoted as saying he did not think his mate was trying to harm himself or blow the petrol station up.
He explained: “I just think he was doing it for a laugh, to show off like, not to harm himself. He’s renowned for doing stupid stuff like this.”
No comments yet