A BURGLAR who was tied to a lawnmower after a North Yorkshire man caught him and made a citizen's arrest narrowly escaped jail today.

Michael Kenneth Gath, 18, of East Grange Rise, Belle Isle, Leeds, appeared before magistrates in the city.

Amphetamine addict Gath admitted burgling the home of Ian Fairwood, who lives at Pilmoor, Helperby, near Easingwold, in April.

He also admitted a range of other offences, including driving while disqualified, making off with petrol without paying, resisting arrest and possession of cannabis.

Magistrates adjourned sentencing for three weeks for Gath to undergo assessment for a drug treatment and testing order.

But they warned him he had come close to prison.

They said he had only escaped "because of your age and the fact that until recently your record has been good, and that you have been in custody for seven weeks...we will grant you bail and allow three weeks for this assessment."

Gath has been in custody since the Pilmoor burglary. The Evening Press has previously reported how Mr Fairwood found Gath sitting in his wife's car at 5.45am.

Armed with a garden fork, Mr Fairwood told Gath to lie on the floor before binding him hand and foot with garden twine and then tying him to the ride-on lawnmower.

Today, Mr Fairwood backed the court's decision.

The 52-year-old civil servant said: "I'm sure they know what they're doing. If people with the relevant qualifications have looked into it, his age, his background and medical condition, then I am happy with that. I might have felt differently, though, if he had been in my home while I was asleep in bed."

After the case, Gath also said he was happy with the verdict.

"It was 50-50 that I would go away, so I'm pleased. I will stick to this (assessment) and give it a real go," he said.

Updated: 14:01 Monday, June 02, 2003