Pair found hiding in Mansfield cupboard arrested on suspicion of van theft

The van’s owner was working on a house on Audrey Crescent, Mansfield Woodhouse, when their vehicle was taken from outside.

While trying to make their escape in the van, thieves crashed straight into another vehicle parked nearby before speeding away.

After receiving reports of the theft on Friday, June 2, at about 10am, police quickly tracked the van down as it was travelling on the A60 in Warsop.

The van ignored orders to pull over and proceeded to crash into several cars in the Mansfield Woodhouse area, causing significant damage to the vehicles.

At this point, police said they called off the chase for safety reasons, but the van’s location was picked up again soon afterwards, and it was found abandoned in Edale Road, Mansfield.

With the aid of a police dog handler, a search was then carried out of the area, which led officers to a property on Hucklow Court, Mansfield, where two suspects were found hiding in a cupboard.

A 38-year-old man and 37-year-old woman were arrested on suspicion of theft of a vehicle, aggravated vehicle taking, driving without a licence, and driving while not insured.

The man was also arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving and failing to stop.

Both suspects have since been released on conditional bail.

Insp Graham Clarke, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “This was a great example of our teams working together to quickly track down a stolen car and detain two suspects.

“Thanks to the driving skills demonstrated by our pursuing officers and their decision to pull back when they did, nobody sustained any injuries during this pursuit.

“By contrast, the driving and decision making of those in the stolen van was incredibly dangerous.

“We simply won’t tolerate this type of behaviour, nor will we fail to stop investigating reports of vehicle theft, which we know can have a hugely detrimental impact on vehicle owners.

“This is still an ongoing investigation, so we’d ask anyone who has any information to contact the police on 101, quoting incident 160 of 2 June 2023, or report it anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.”