£3,000 haul of suspected stolen timber recovered by officers

A £3,000 haul of suspected stolen timber which was swiped from a Blyth building site has been recovered by eagle-eyed officers.

Officers had been alerted to a theft from a building stie in the Plessey Road area of town on Tuesday, May 10 at about 11pm.

A number of vans were then seen to leave the area and officers from the motor patrols department were more than up for the challenge.

One van was found abandoned nearby and was uplifted, with police spotting a second vehicle travelling towards Seaham on the A19 a short time later.

Officers pursued the vehicle before the occupant made off on foot, with police finding more than £3,000 of suspected stolen materials inside the van.

Inspector Matt Sykes of Northumbria Police’s motor patrols department, said: “This was an excellent outcome and the result of some outstanding work from the team.

“After we were made aware of the suspicious activity up in Blyth, we were deployed to the area and quickly located one van that had been left abandoned nearby.

“It was then a case of using every tactic at our disposal in order to track the other vehicles thought to be involved – and soon enough one was identified travelling southbound past Sunderland.

“Knowing we were hot on their heels, the occupants fled empty-handed – and we were able to successfully retrieve a significant stash of timber and building materials. Enquiries are ongoing to locate those involved.

“I would like to thank everyone who played their part in allowing us to seize these suspected stolen items, and hope our robust response offers reassurance to businesses across Northumbria. We will continue to do all we can to pursue thieves and ultimately bring them to justice.”