The bizarre tale of the 'North Pond Hermit' takes another twist as he receives marriage proposal and an offer to bail him out of jail

Christopher Knight, who has become known as the North Pond Hermit, reportedly spent 27 years in the woods of Maine

A man who lived as a hermit for nearly three decades, before being arrested on suspicion of 1,000 burglaries, has attracted a marriage proposal and a stranger's offer to bail him out.

Christopher Knight, who has become known as the North Pond Hermit, reportedly spent 27 years in the woods of Maine with virtually no contact with other people.

He was arrested last week after an exasperated game warden set up a motion sensor alarm system following a series of burglaries at Pine Tree Camp, a holiday destination for people with special needs.

According to The Kennebec Journal since his arrest one person has called the jail with a marriage proposal, while a man Mr Knight did not know turned up at the jail on Saturday offering to pay his $5,000 bail.

The unsolicited approaches have prompted authorities to dramatically increase his bond amid fears he could be exploited.

Maine State Trooper Diane Perkins-Vance told the Journal: "My job is to ensure he does appear in court. But there's a lot of people out there trying to exploit him."

District Attorney Maeghan Maloney said the that although the big bail increase is unusual the case itself was so unusual that it was warranted.

"The first concern is he might be a flight risk," she said. "The second concern is the group of people who are interested in posting bail for Mr. Knight who are not from our state and not members of his family.

"I will remain concerned for Mr. Knight until he has an attorney helping him to navigate what is a new world to him," she said.

Police have said that during his near three decades in the Maine woods Mr Knight may have been responsible for more than 1,000 thefts of food, clothes and camping equipment to sustain his solitary existence at a makeshift forest encampment.

Knight was arrested after he tripped a a surveillance sensor set up by a game warden while stealing food from a camp for people with special needs.