Police praised for 'excellent detection' in pursuit of wanted burglar
A man has been arrested on suspicion of failing to stop, having a suspected class A drug - and it was found he was wanted in connection with five burglaries
North Yorkshire Police have arrested a man in an operation they're being praised for their 'excellent detection' by the Duty Superintendent.
Yesterday (10 August), it took a large-scale pursuit to find the driver who abandoned his car in the River Esk near the village of Grosmont.
The 38-year-old has been arrested on suspicion of failing to stop, having a suspected class A drug - and it was found he was wanted in connection with five burglaries.
Sharing more information about the incident, officers said they were called out shortly after 1.30am yesterday - with staff from the Roads Policing Group attempting to stop a vehicle on the A171 just north of Whitby.
What then followed was a high-speed pursuit through Egton.
The car being driven by the suspect then crashed into a parked car - but he continued to drive down country lanes before reverse-ramming one of the specialist police vehicles.
The roads policing officer then used 'specialist tactics' and continued to follow the vehicle towards the village of Grosmont.
As the driver crossed the ford, they then turned into the River Esk.
The vehicle was left abandoned in the river and the driver fled on foot.
A police helicopter was called out to the incident, equipped with specialist night-time vision equipment.
Within minutes, the helicopter was overhead when it spotted a heat source next to a tree. Units on the ground were guided in and the suspect was detained.
A 38-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of failing to stop for the police and possession of a suspected Class -A drug. Further enquiries show that the man was wanted in connection with five burglaries in the North Yorkshire and Cleveland area and he was further arrested for burglary.
The man currently remains in police custody.
Duty Superintendent, Victoria Taylor from North Yorkshire Police said: “This was an excellent detection by our specialist operations officers.
“Despite trying to run from us, we were able to arrest the man who now remains in custody.
“We work tirelessly around the clock to target and disrupt criminal activity to make our communities safer for everyone.”