British backpacker 'kidnapped in Australia' rescued after secretly sending texts to her father back in the UK

'I need you to call the Australian police. Do not ring me... I've been taken by a man'

Mary Kate Heys, 20, from Manchester, said she was woken up by the 22-year-old Swedish man who appeared to be in a 'manic state' (mkheys/Instagram)

A British backpacker has been rescued from an alleged kidnapper in Australia after she managed share her location with her father in the UK.

Mary Kate Heys, 20, from Manchester, said she was kidnapped from a hostel on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland on Monday.

She told The Courier Mail she was woken up around 4.30am by the 22-year-old Swedish man, who appeared to be in a "manic state" and asked her to "go on an adventure" to Brisbane.

Worried about his safety, she got into the car with him to try and help but she realised she was in trouble when he sped away.

After convincing the man she needed to stop for a drink, he pulled over at a petrol station where Ms Heys told a woman at the counter to call the police.

However, after driving for another hour, she decided to message her dad in the UK and get him to call the Australian police.

"Dad are you awake," she asked in her first text.

"Yeah it's only 7 at night x Are you okay x," he replied.

Ms Heys then shared her location to her father and said: "I need you to call the Australian police. Do not ring me. And tell them I'm in a silver Peugeot."

She added: "I've been taken by a man. I don't think he's dangerous. Please hurry."

In one text, she said: "He thinks he's an alien."

Her father called police and asked her to keep sending him messages with her location.

"I said ‘don’t worry’ but I knew getting a message like that would be a parent’s worst nightmare," she told The Courier Mail.

Eventually, a police car pulled the car over and Ms Heys jumped out of the moving vehicle.

"I didn’t even wait for it to stop moving, I just ran out because I was so terrified," she said.

The man was later taken to a mental health hospital and Ms Heys said she had decided not to press charges.