A HAVE-A-GO hero has told of his terrifying ordeal as he tried to stop thieves escaping from a building siteLloyd Drain was working at the construction site when three men were spotted taking radiators from one of the homes.

A HAVE-A-GO hero has told of his terrifying ordeal as he tried to stop thieves escaping from a building site

Lloyd Drain was working at the construction site when three men were spotted taking radiators from one of the homes.

The plumber “saw red” and jumped over a fence before throwing himself on to the front of the vehicle as it started to drive off.

After travelling for about half-a-mile clinging to the van by its windscreen wipers the 27-year-old was thrown from to the ground and was then run over as the three men escaped.

Mr Drain was knocked unconscious by the impact of the collision last Wednesday and his next memory was waking up in hospital.

Initially doctors thought his injuries could be very serious but amazingly he escaped with only fractures ribs and cuts and bruises.

Speaking from his Braintree home, Mr Drain recalled the moment he was told his gear was being stolen.

He said: “I was working in a flat when a colleague came down and said 'Lloyd, someone is taking your radiators' so I shot out there like a bolt of lightning.

“Everyone has had a lot of gear stolen and I just saw red and I jumped on to the front and was hanging on by the windscreen wipers.

“They were doing at least 35 to 40mph and I was on the front of the van trying to kick the frill in to get a footing, but my feet were dragging along the floor.

“They were doing all they could to shake me off, swerving and bumping into the curb and then they hit a Thames Water van.”

The driver of the stolen van then slammed on the brakes, leaving Mr Drain in agony on the ground.

He then drove straight at the 27-year-old, smashing into him during the theft in Purfleet.

“I was just so angry, we have had so much gear stolen from the site that I just saw red and I had already had a bad day,” he said.

Last night his mother, Christine, 59, from Braintree, said she had been deeply shocked when she saw her son lying helpless at Darrent Valley Hospital, Kent.

“I will tell you what - nobody in this world can prepare a mother to see her son on a ventilator with his head and neck taped down.

“It was awful, but it was such a relief when the surgeons told us they did not need to operate,” she said.

Police officers were able to get some fingerprints from one of the radiators which the three men left behind although there have not been any arrests yet.