Suspected thieves fall off moped as they are chased by police who catch them then post mocking video on Facebook
- Police have mocked three hapless suspected thieves on the force’s Facebook
- The suspects were caught on dashcam falling off their getaway moped
- Man, 20, and two boys, 17, have been arrested following incident in Durham
Police have mocked three hapless suspected thieves who were caught on dashcam falling off their getaway moped following a chase.
Officers scrambled to the Neville’s Cross area of Durham after receiving reports of the trio driving erratically around the city with no lights on.
Dramatic dashcam footage shows the moment the suspects were sent sprawling into the road after losing control of the moped they were on.
A 20-year-old man and two 17-year-old boys were arrested on suspicion of theft and going equipped following the incident on Wednesday night.
One of the teenagers was further arrested on suspicion of failing to stop, dangerous driving and possessing a controlled drug following a search.
Durham Constabulary mocked the suspects, writing on their Facebook page: ‘Three on a bike and the little one said…decamp!’
Police received a report of three people on a moped with no lights driving erratically from Durham in the direction of Langley Moor
Officers scrambled to the area – but caught the moment the suspected thieves fell of their mopeds into the road on dashcam
They then tried to escape by foot – but were caught after being chased by officers
Police have warned they ‘will not hesitate to use our tactics to bring dangerous vehicles to a controlled stop’
The Facebook post shared by Durham Constabulary on Thursday said: ‘Just after 9.30pm last night, we received a report of three lads on a moped with no lights, no helmets but a pair of bolt croppers driving erratically from Durham in the direction of Langley Moor.
‘Officers from the Roads and Armed Policing Unit’s B Relief were dispatched and followed a further call reporting a similar vehicle heading along the A690 in the direction of Willington.
‘PCs Steven Graham, Rachael Bennett, Gareth Irvin and Stewart Liddle successfully stung the bike twice at the bottom of Scripton Gill Road, forcing the riders to ditch it at Neville’s Cross and try to escape on foot before being chased down by officers.’
Police added: ‘The bolt croppers were also recovered along with the bike that was suspected to have been stolen earlier in the night.
‘All three suspects were taken to custody and this afternoon, have been bailed until next month whilst further enquiries continue.’
Inspector Dave Clarke, of Durham Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: ‘We will not hesitate to use our tactics to bring dangerous vehicles to a controlled stop and thankfully this bike was intercepted before any harm was caused to members of the public.
‘Thank you to those residents that called us to report the incident to us which allowed us to make sure our units could intercept the bike as quickly as possible.’