We’ve all heard the expression ‘thick as thieves’, but stealing a 16t skip truck and then trying to outrun police takes some beating!
The skip hire wagon, from West Yorkshire, was spotted by police being driven erratically on the A19, near Hartlepool.
The vehicle failed to stop, and the driver then led the pursuing officers on a 10 mile chase - reaching speeds of up to a staggering 40mph! (Come on, it is a skip truck!) Even the police helicopter was involved.
The police believe that the vehicle may have been stolen from a compound in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire - 90 miles away.
The chase led police up the A19 and then turned off at Castle Eden and through Blackhall; eventually coming to an end outside Hartlepool. The pursuit was brought to a halt when police successfully deployed their trusty ‘stinger’ device, spiking the tyres of
the wagon.
The 30-year-old male driver was promptly arrested on suspicion of stealing the vehicle from Hutchinson Demolition, in Dewsbury.
A nearby resident, who witnessed the arrest, said: “It is not the kind of thing you expect to see in a police chase. I was expecting to see a car and people running about, but there was this great big skip lorry there.”
Andrew Hutchinson, a director at Hutchinson Demolition, said: “It was stolen from us at 10pm on Monday. It is worth between £16,000 and £20,000 and it was probably stolen to order.”
