Diesel thief faces £122 fuel bill and loss of vans after being stopped near Wetherby
Two vans have been seized and a man has been arrested after being caught trying to get away without paying for fuel at a North Yorkshire petrol station.
Just after 7am on Thursday, December 1, police received a report that a vehicle had made off from Coneygarth services, off the A1(M).
Two Ford Transit vans had entered the forecourt together and one had left without paying for more than £122 of diesel.
Using ANPR technology, North Yorkshire Police officers began searching for the two vehicles and at 10.30am, they were spotted heading south on the A1(M) and brought to a stop on the A168 just outside Wetherby.
One of the drivers, a 24-year-old man, was arrested, and both vans were recovered by police - one for having no insurance, the other for no tax.
The driver was taken to custody and issued with a police caution, including a requirement to pay back the fuel bill in full.