24 Hours In Police Custody: GoFundMe set up for Eggington man Adam White jailed for 22 months - while would-be burglars avoid prison

An electrician who chased two armed men trying to break into his home was jailed for almost two years - while the would-be burglars escaped time behind bars.

Adam White from Eggington near Leighton Buzzard jumped in his Mercedes and gave chase as the pair took off on a motorbike.

But all three crashed and the aftermath was featured in a return to 24 Hours In Police Custody on Channel 4 last night (Monday).

Outraged viewers took to Twitter to vent their anger with Bedfordshire Police and their sympathy for Adam.

The 34-year-old was at home with his wife Lindsay and two children when he spotted two masked armed men attempting to break into his property on his home surveillance system.

While Lindsay dialled 999, Adam jumped into his car to pursue the pair as they made their getaway on a stolen motorcycle.

But after misjudging a corner, Adam's car hit the pair - who weren’t wearing helmets - and they were left needing emergency hospital treatment.

Following the collision Adam was taken into custody by Bedfordshire Police and questioned by officers about his intentions as he pursued the motorbike.

He was later released under investigation.

Meanwhile, Taylor Benford, one of the men injured in the collision, attended Luton police station voluntarily after hospital treatment.

His solicitor read out a prepared statement on his behalf - and despite telling another man waiting in the police reception what had happened, told police he had no recollection of the incident and gave a no comment interview.

Ryan Paul, the second man involved in the incident, said he was too unwell to be interviewed.

Both had been armed with a crowbar and bolt cutters when they attempted the burglary - and had a string of previous convictions.

However, as the programme came to a conclusion, the CPS decided it was in the public interest to prosecute White, who was sentenced to 22 months in prison after being found guilty by a jury.

The judge told him he should not have taken the law into his own hands.

Meanwhile Branford and Paul pled guilty to attempted burglary of Adam's house - but avoided time behind bars.

The judge said they bore substantial responsibility themselves for their injuries and they both received a two-year suspended sentence and 200 hours community service - partly because their injuries would have made it hard for them in prison.

Speaking in the episode, Adam said: "I still consider myself a victim. Yes, I took the law into my own hands. Why come out and intend to cause disruption to people's lives and what they work hard for? It's not far. I'm an electrician by trade and I've got a garage with thousands of pounds worth of tools and I didn't know what they had taken, and I'm being treated like a criminal. It's not me. I feel bad these guys got hurt but I don't believe it was my fault."

He later thanked viewers for their support, tweeting: "Thank you to everyone for your kind words and heart felt sympathy we have been through an awful lot, it was hard seeing this on TV and with all the messages I've received has been amazing and very emotional I honestly cant believe the public is behind me."

Wife Lindsay told the camera: "He was a victim who was just trying to protect his family."

The Whites have decided to move out of the area.

Viewers commenting on Twitter throughout the hour-long documentary were furious at the outcome.

Andy Macdonald said: "22 months for protecting his property whilst two repeat offenders continue to walk the streets, no wonder respect for the police is at an all time low."

Another tweeted: "Appalling! How you allowed for this to be aired is incredible. Talk about destroying public confidence even more than it already is."

A GoFundMe has been set up to support Adam and his family.

Bedfordshire Police responded to the controversy with a statement on their website.

They said: “Our officers work incredibly hard to put criminals before the courts and disrupt their activities, but we know that the outcomes received do not always tell the full story. In this case, there were no winners.

“This episode is an important reminder that people must not take the law into their own hands. Such actions can have enormous consequences.

“The best thing you can do when a crime is happening is to call 999 so that we can dispatch officers to the scene to apprehend those involved and protect the public from further harm.

“We’re committed to improving our response times and increasing our police presence in crime hotspot areas, tackling the issues that matter most to our communities and driving down offending.”