Police are searching the country for a 12-year-old boy accused of using a BMW X5 to drive off with a caravan.
The youngster, who is a member of the travelling community, was due to appear before magistrates court last week but failed to attend.
Now, Harrogate Magistrates Court has issued an arrest warrant for the boy, who has no permanent home address.
A spokesperson for the court told MailOnline: “A juvenile was due to appear before Harrogate magistrates charged with theft of a motor vehicle of value unknown, driving it dangerously and handling stolen goods, namely a caravan.
“The defendant has not attended and an arrest warrant has been issued.”
At around 3.30pm on March 7 last year, officers received a call that a caravan had been stolen from a holiday site near Thirsk and was being towed away by a black BMW.
Officers were able to track the 4X4, that was also using cloned registration plates, travelling south on the A1.
Around 45 minutes after the caravan was reported stolen, police caught up with the vehicle on the M1 at Garforth, just outside Leeds.
The boy was due to appear before Harrogate Magistrates Court on Friday, March 14.
Janine Forth, the owner of the caravan, later revealed on Facebook that it belonged to her.
She said she returned to the caravan site just in time to see it being hitched up to the BMW and that the thieves removed its tracking device.
She said: “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.”
Police have advised caravan owners to bolster their security measures to try and deter thieves, by installing CCTV, fitting alarms and taking good quality photographs of the vehicle to help it be identified by police if it is stolen.
