A woman in Central Florida used an online pizza order to send a distress signal while being held hostage at knifepoint.

Employees at the Pizza Hut in the city of Avon Park noticed Cheryl Treadway's call for help in the comment section of the order.

The workers recognised her as a regular customer, decided it was not a prank, and called the sheriff's office.

Sheriff's deputies rescued Treadway and arrested her boyfriend, Ethan Nickerson.

The BBC's Paul Blake reports from Washington.