A church pastor and his guest were forced to tackle a man to the ground and perform a citizen’s arrest after they were threatened with a knife during a terrifying attack.

A 51-year-old man from Croydon Park has been charged with aggravated assault following the incident at the Croydon Park Community Church on Boomerang Road in Adelaide at around 8pm yesterday. 

Pastor Ryan Pickard and his guests had been packing up for the night, but as one of them went to use the outdoor bathroom, a man appeared, allegedly pulling a knife on him and chasing him down.

However, Pickard and a guest performed a citizen’s arrest, holding the man until police arrived. 

“I witnessed a guy, carrying things off that belong to the church, then ditch them and run off” he said. 

“And my friend explained he pulled a knife out on him.”

His wife, Yvette Pickard, witnessed the incident.

“The guy with the knife came at our friend and he managed to defend the attack,” she said.

“He managed to subdue him and they pinned him to the ground until the police came.” 

Another witness, Gayath Rivijayam, said the scene was “very scary because he was yelling ‘I have knife, let me go, let me go'”. 

“But father was saying ‘no you can’t’,” she added.

The 51-year-old man was arrested at the scene and charged with aggravated assault.