A suspected thief was arrested after a speeding vehicle that rammed a police car was brought to a halt.
Officers were in Balderton, Newark, at around 12.30am on Thursday (7 December) when they spotted a car linked to a high-value fuel theft.
Around £400 of fuel was taken from a garage in Mansfield days earlier on Sunday (3 December) – with the offender driving away without paying.
After intelligence suggested the vehicle responsible was in their sights, officers activated their blue lights and ordered the driver to pull the car over.
It was then accelerated away from the police and was clocked going more than double the speed limit across different parts of the Newark area.
The vehicle then continued to be driven in an erratic fashion, before it eventually came to a stop in Cleveland Square.
At that point, the driver tried to make their escape by reversing straight into a police car – causing damage to both vehicles – before being detained shortly afterwards.
The now stationary car was then searched by officers, who found large numbers of oil drums in the back that police believed were intended to be used to steal fuel.
Police then ran the suspect’s details through the system, which revealed they were a suspect in a burglary and shop theft that took place three days apart in Newark.
Around £120 worth of meat was stolen from a shop on 18 October 2023, before several Christmas trees and other items were taken during a break-in at a store on 20 October.
Following the car stop, a 31-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving, drug-driving, failing to stop, burglary and theft.
The suspect was additionally arrested for going equipped to steal, criminal damage, driving without insurance, and possession of Class A and Class B drugs.
PC Josh Gibbons, of Nottinghamshire Police’s Road Policing Unit, said:
“The car in question initially came to our attention when we received intelligence linking it to a high-value fuel theft in our force area.
“When our officers then ordered the car to pull over, the level of driving that followed was incredibly dangerous and could’ve quite easily resulted in someone being injured.
“This included our own officers, with the vehicle ramming a police car at one stage before it was eventually brought to a halt.
“As a result of this stop, we have been able to arrest a suspect in connection with a string of offences, including an outstanding burglary and shop theft.
“While this was a good result, inquiries are still very much ongoing into each of these incidents, so we’d ask anyone with any information that could assist us to get in touch.”
Anyone with any information is asked to call the police on 101, quoting incident 9 of 7 December 2023, or report it anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Mansfield 103.2 Afternoon News - 211124
