An 11-year-old boy was arrested after being stopped by police at the wheel of a BMW towing a suspected stolen caravan on the M1.
North Yorkshire officers said they were “staggered” after finding the boy driving a BMW X5 on the motorway.
The caravan was reported stolen from a caravan site near Thirsk at 3.30pm on Thursday, the caller saying it was being towed away by a black BMW.
A North Yorkshire Police spokesman said: “We were able to track the BMW, that was also using cloned registration plates, travelling south on the A1.
We intercepted a BMW towing a suspected stolen caravan yesterday and were staggered to find an 11-year-old boy at the wheel.
— North Yorkshire Police (@NYorksPolice) March 8, 2024
Quick work by our skilled roads policing officers and our intelligence team working in the background ⬇️ https://t.co/omYtrQ3Aee pic.twitter.com/gUgxngcNEv
“Forty five minutes after the caravan was reported stolen, we stopped the vehicle on the M1 after it left the A1 at Hook Moor interchange near Garforth.
“But nothing prepared us for finding the schoolboy sat at the wheel.”
The boy was arrested on suspicion of theft, burglary, going equipped for theft, and motoring offences including dangerous driving.
He was questioned and released on conditional bail.
No-one was injured, police said.
The owner of the caravan told of her shock as she watched it being driven away from a caravan park by a BMW X5.
Janine Forth revealed on Facebook the caravan was hers.
She said she returned to the site just in time to see it being hitched up to the vehicle and that the thieves removed its tracking device
Ms Forth wrote: “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.”
