By Jo Knowsley
Pictures: Oscar Kornyei
Last week Qld dad Matt Munt was working in his yard when he looked up and saw a man running down the driveway with his petrified little boy.
An ordinary weekend turned into something out of a sick horror film for Ipswich father Matthew Munt. It was Saturday afternoon, and Matt was chopping wood out the front of the family home with the help of his son Hayden, 2.
The boy’s mother, Dearne, was away visiting her own mother, and little Hayden was delighted to help his dad with such an important job.
Moments later, all hell broke loose when Matt saw his son, screaming in helpless panic, in the grip of a rough-looking stranger and being bundled towards a waiting car.
“I only looked up because our dog Harvey tore past, barking like mad,” says Matt. “What I saw made me feel sick. There was a man at the bottom of our driveway who had Hayden by the waist and was heading to a parked car.
“I was about 20 metres away and just ran. I don’t think I’ve ever run so fast. By the time I got there, the man had put Hayden in the driver’s seat. There were two other people in the car, but I didn’t look at them. I just wanted my son. I would have thrown myself through the windscreen if I’d had to. The driver was still standing by the car and I barged him and punched him twice, hard, in the face. I might have been screaming, but I really can’t remember.
“Then I grabbed Hayden from the seat by his little blue jumper and sort of flung him back onto our property before hitting the guy some more.
“My little boy was screaming in terror. He was calling out, ‘Daddy, Daddy,’ and sobbing. I felt absolutely sick. I ran to my son and the car sped off.”
Calling the police and then Dearne, to tell her what happened and assure her that Hayden was safe, Matt carried Hayden back into the house as his little boy shook with terror.
For the full story, see this week’s Woman’s Day ?on sale May 25, 2009.
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