Boy, 11, arrested by police for towing suspected stolen caravan on M1
8 March 2024, 15:24 | Updated: 8 March 2024, 15:25
Police were "staggered" to find an 11-year-old boy behind the wheel of a BMW towing a caravan on the M1 in North Yorkshire.
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North Yorkshire Police said they received a call at 3.30pm on Thursday, March 7, reporting that a caravan had been stolen from a site near Thirsk, and was being towed away by a black BMW.
In a statement, the police said: "We were able to track the BMW, that was also using cloned registration plates, travelling south on the A1.
"45 minutes after the caravan was reported stolen, we stopped the vehicle on the M1 after it left the A1 at Hook Moor Interchange near Garforth."
Police added: "Nothing prepared us for finding the school boy sitting at the wheel.
"A search of the car also revealed equipment typically used by suspects to carry out thefts and a selection of vehicle registration plates."
The pre-teen was arrested on suspicion of numerous offences including theft, burglary, going equipped for theft, and motoring offences including dangerous driving.
After being questioned, he was released on conditional bail to allow more enquiries to be carried out.
The statement added: "Thanks to the quick work of our skilled roads policing officers, our control room and intelligence team working in the background, the rightful owners have been updated that their caravan had been found.
No one was injured during the incident.
"While we’re talking about caravans, just a reminder that we have seen an increase in caravan thefts across North Yorkshire recently,” police have warned.
To make it harder for thieves, caravan owners have been advised to install CCTV where they park their motorhome and to consider putting cameras inside the vehicle.
