Sergeant Paul Cording, the police officer who pulled over the then 11-year-old on the M1 at Garforth, said that the youngster was barely able to see over the wheel of the BMW X5
Police have launched a manhunt for a preteen who nabbed a holiday caravan and took it on a 40-mile joyride.
The youngster, 12, has been accused of stealing a BMW X5 with the motor home attached in a daring heist at a holiday park in Thirsk before taking the vehicle down the A1M to North Yorkshire. He was allegedly spotted by police after driving some distance and reaching the London-bound M1 at Garforth, outside Leeds. Police following the young man said that, despite his long drive, he was barely able to see over the wheel of the car.
He was scheduled to appear in front of Harrogate Magistrates’ Court earlier this month on Friday, March 14. But he failed to turn up for the court appearance, and police were forced to issue an arrest warrant before embarking on a countrywide manhunt.
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A spokesman for the court said in a statement that the then 11-year-old member of the Traveller community was due to appear in court on charges of theft of a motor vehicle of value unknown, driving it dangerously and handling stolen goods, namely a caravan. They added that, given his failure to appeal, the court has been forced to issue an arrest warrant.
North Yorkshire Police said the boy was questioned and later released on conditional bail to allow further enquiries to be carried out. But the boy, who has no fixed address, failed to show up to court – forcing cops to launch a nationwide manhunt.
The caravan the preteen is accused of stealing belonged to Janine Forth. The Leeds local has since taken to Facebook to reveal how the incident took place, saying she had only just arrived at the caravan park when the car and its attachment were taken. She also commended police for the “quick thinking and amazing response”.
She said: “We arrived at the caravan site just as they had hitched it up and were driving away with it. If it [hadn’t] been for quick thinking and the amazing response from the police, god knows what would have happened.”
Police have warned caravan owners to make sure their vehicles have up-to-date security measures to prevent thefts. These include CCTV overlooking motorhomes and caravans and making sure gates that allow access to driveways and garages where they are stored are kept locked.
The owner added the caravan was installed with “all the up to date security”. She added the first thing the boy thief did during the heist was “wreck the front end to get the tracker out”. One local resident said the force are going to have quite “the job on their hands” trying to trace the boy.
Janine issued a very strong warning to pet lovers over social media and said: “All I can say is that for those who leave their pets in their caravan whilst they go out, please DON’T! Thank god ours was with us safe.”
Sergeant Paul Cording, the officer who pulled over the then 11-year-old boy has noted just how bizarre the entire ordeal was. He said he had never experienced anything quite like the 11-year-old joyrider’s joyride in more than 20 years of policing, while praising “great fast track work” from his team.
The Sergeant said: “Even after over 23 years service, you come across things that you struggle to comprehend. Like yesterday when some great fast track work from the team identified a recently stolen caravan being towed by a vehicle on false plates, but then to find the driver was only 11 years old!”