Police who stopped a black BMW X5 towing a suspected stolen caravan along the M1 have admitted to being stunned by the identity of the driver: an 11-year-old schoolboy.
A spokesperson for North Yorkshire police said officers were “staggered” by the incident, which took place on Thursday.
The force said they received a call that a caravan had been stolen from a holiday site near the market town of Thirsk. The caller said it was being towed by a black BMW.
Officers managed to track the vehicle, which was using cloned registration plates, travelling south on the A1. The car was followed as it joined the M1 at the Hook Moor interchange near Garforth and was then stopped by police, 45 minutes after the caravan was first stolen.
“Nothing prepared us for finding the schoolboy sat at the wheel,” said the spokesperson. “A search of the car also revealed equipment typically used by suspects to carry out thefts and a selection of vehicle registration plates.”
Sgt Paul Cording, of North Yorkshire police, said on X: “Even after over 23 years’ service, you come across things that you struggle to comprehend. Like yesterday when some great fast-track work from the team identified a recently stolen caravan being towed by a vehicle on false plates, but then to find the driver was only 11 years old.”
The boy was arrested on suspicion of a number of offences including theft, burglary, going equipped for theft, and motoring offences including dangerous driving. He was questioned and has been released on conditional police bail to allow further enquiries to be carried out.
The caravan’s rightful owners have been alerted and no one was injured during the incident, the spokesperson added.
North Yorkshire police said they had seen an increase in caravan theft recently and urged owners to consider fitting security devices, particularly tracking devices.
