Passersby and drivers in Harpenden did a double take on Friday (26) when they saw a man in a bondage suit tied to a lamppost.

Herts Advertiser: James with the rest of his stag party after he 'escaped' from the lamppostJames with the rest of his stag party after he 'escaped' from the lamppost (Image: Archant)

James Spence, 29, of Harpenden, was tied to a lamppost in the High Street by a group of his friends as part of his stag do.

A video of the prank, posted by his friend Luke Roberts, has racked up more than 27,000 views on Facebook after being shared by amused viewers.

Luke, 27, of Markyate, said: “It was quite well received. It’s quite an affluent area so we didn’t expect it to be that way but we had a lot of people and drivers stopping and laughing.”

After managing to convince him to get into the costume, the men led an unsuspecting James up to the lamppost to take a photo.

Luke continued: “I don’t know how he didn’t catch on really. We got him to stand in front of the post for a photo and then we put his hands behind his back while one of us went round with duct tape.”

The group then left James to go for a drink in a nearby bar, and numerous people took the opportunity to photograph him, with images later appearing on various Facebook groups.

Thankfully for James, he later managed to escape and join the rest of them at the bar.

The stag do and prank was originally organised by James’s best man, Alex Demain, who died after being diagnosed with cancer.

Luke said: “It’s very sad because he organised it, but it was almost like a tribute. The weekend was both a celebration about James getting married, but also a celebration of Alex.”

The lads then set off to Hamburg for the weekend, with James remaining in his costume for the duration of the journey.

“He even had it on through customs,” Luke added.