Nottinghamshire Police arrested a suspected fuel thief after his car rammed a police car.
Officers were in Balderton, Newark, at around 12.30am on Thursday, December 7, when they spotted a car linked to a high-value fuel theft.
Around £400-worth of fuel was taken from a garage in Mansfield days earlier (December 3) – 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 over. It accelerated away 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. The driver tried to escape by reversing straight into a police car – causing damage to both vehicles – before being detained shortly afterwards.
The car was 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 in Newark.
Around £120-worth of meat was stolen from a shop in October, before several Christmas trees and other items were taken during a break-in at a store later that month.
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: “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.
