An engineer was left with broken ribs when he was flung from his van after holding on to a side door to stop thieves from driving away in it.

James Kirwin, 58, grabbed the sliding passenger door of his white Mercedes Sprinter van as he noticed two men stealing it from Moorside Drive in Drighlighton last Friday – but after holding on for 100 metres he was thrown off as it went around a bend.

He said: “Some people might think it foolhardy, but I thought it was the right thing to do.”

Mr Kirwin, of Manchester, was working with his son fitting a water meter in the area when two men approached the vehicle – a long wheel-based van with orange lights on the roof and a large silver trailer containing building materials attached to the back – at around 1.15pm.

He said: “I noticed the van move and then it started up.

“I decided to go after it and managed to hold the door handle of the side sliding door. I was trying to get into the back, but as I tried to get in I was thrown from the cab.

“I think it was instinct and the adrenalin. I just wanted to chase after it.

“A lot of the equipment in the van came out as I was thrown off, so it’s just the van that’s been taken. But I’d really like it back.”

Mr Kirwin was taken by ambulance to Bradford Royal Infirmary where he was treated overnight for injuries, including broken ribs and cuts and bruises to his elbows.

He has been signed off work for two weeks and said he would now think of the “risks” when he is working.

“I was just someone who was trying to work for a living. Proper people, real human beings wouldn’t do this,” he added.

“Whoever’s done this hasn’t got anything human about them.”

Officers want to speak to two men in connection with the incident, who are described as white, aged in their mid to late 20s and of slim to medium build. One of them had brown hair and the other blond hair.

One was wearing a blue striped top and the other had a dark blue t-shirt.

Witnesses or anyone with information are asked contact DC Lee Thimm at City and Holbeck CID on (0113) 2414781 or Crimestoppers, in confidence, on 0800 555111.