A MAN who doused a car in petrol and threatened to set it alight with a child and dog inside is being detained under the Mental Health Act.

The incident happened in Shanklin on the Isle of Wight yesterday as crowds of holidaymakers and shoppers looked on in horror.

It began when the man swerved his car across the busy High Street, got out and poured petrol over the vehicle and the road before pulling out a cigarette lighter. Police said the actions of the man, a holidaymaker from Kent, were "a desperate plea for help".

The man, in his late 30s, was confronted by local businessmen who first negotiated the safe release of the two-year-old child and then persuaded the man to wait peacefully until police arrived.

Insp Martin Goodall said: "The actions of the public helped avert a potentially very serious situation.

"It appears the actions of the man were a desperate plea for help of some description. We are keen now to ensure he is provided with the assistance he needs."

The child has now safely been reunited with his mother.

The man was initially confronted by Fiona Daniells, 36, a partner in K Daniells estate agents with her husband Kevin.

Mr Daniells, also 36, said: "As I tried to get people away from the scene my wife spoke to the man and he was happy to let her take the child inside.

"I continued speaking to him and got him to come into the business. I made him a cup of tea and calmed him down until the police arrived.

"But it was dramatic and had the petrol been ignited then people would have been seriously hurt."