A vigilante group known as Soldiers of Odin claims to have ‘apprehended’ a young asylum seeker who was harassing women in the Groningen town of Windschoten and handed him over to the police, the Telegraaf said on Tuesday.

The group says on its Facebook page that it ‘caught’ the refugee after a ‘hunt’ of one hour. Soldiers of Odin, which originated in Finland last year, says that its role is ‘protecting our citizens and defending our streets’.

A police spokeswoman told the Telegraaf that while the police are happy people want to help, ‘we must beware of vigilante justice’.