Police in Łódź, central Poland, were put on alert after a 25-year-old man was abducted from a city street by a group of masked men.

Several hours later it turned out that the kidnapping had been part of a stag party joke.

Spokesperson for Łódź police Joanna Kącka said that a woman had called the emergency number saying that she had seen a man dragged out of his car by a group of masked individuals, who then drove off with the victim. One of the attackers had driven away in the victim’s car. 

Four hours later police reached the victim’s uncle, who explained that the kidnapping had been a joke for the young man’s stag party.

The 25-year-old “victim” was also located and spent some time at a police station, before he could rejoin his party. Officers said he was lucky there was no police patrol in the area as the “kidnapping” could have ended far more seriously. (ek/pg)