A man has been arrested after a suspected theft in Harrogate.

North Yorkshire Police today (October 20) said officers received information about a Ford Transit van in “suspicious circumstances” just after midnight this morning.

The force was told the van was parked outside a Harrogate shopping centre and suspects were loading boxes into the vehicle.

Specialist roads policing officers soon located the van in the Pool-in-Wharfedale area, but the driver failed to stop and drove off at a high speed, running red lights along the way.

After a pursuit, the van was eventually abandoned on Halton Moor Avenue in Leeds.

Today’s statement added a police drone was then deployed, which located a 23-year-old man hiding in a nearby garden.

He was arrested by North Yorkshire Police officers on suspicion of failing to stop, dangerous driving, shop theft, burglary and possession of cocaine.

The suspect remains in custody at the time of writing, but police told the Stray Ferret enquiries into the incident are ongoing. 

Police said the van contained a “large amount of suspected stolen property”, which is thought to be from a number of shops.

It has all been recovered and the van has been seized for forensic examination, the force added.