Caravan thieves drove the wrong way on A64

TWO MEN were arrested from a car on York Road in Leeds after police stopped them as they towed a stolen caravan in the wrong carriageway.

Tom Shalloe and Benjamin Reid were arrested in the early hours after officers saw the vehicle being driven the wrong way on the A64 on July 6 last year.

Leeds Crown Court was told the two defendants were travelling in a Kia Sorrento SUV vehicle which was being driven by Reid when they were stopped.

Reid had no driving licence and was uninsured.

Jessie Heggie, prosecuting, said the caravan, worth £19,000, had been stolen from a storage yard in Barnsley.

Miss Heggie said not much more was known about the offence and that both defendants were from the Derby area.

Judge Christopher Batty said: “Quite where they were going and why they were in Leeds we do not know.”

Both defendants pleaded guilty to handling stolen goods.

Reid, 41, of no fixed address, also pleaded guilty to offences of having no insurance and no licence.

Christopher Aspinall, for Shalloe, of Normanton Road, Derby, said his client committed the offence to fund his drug addiction.

Mr Aspinall said Shalloe pleaded guilty to the offence at an early stage and was receiving support to address his drug problems.

Shalloe was made the subject of a 12-month community order and ordered to complete 25 rehabilitation activity requirement days.

Michael Cane-Soothill, for Reid, said his client’s offending was also linked to drugs.

The barrister said Reid is now drug-free and had written a letter to the court apologising for his offending.

Judge Batty adjourned sentencing Reid to allow time for a probation service report.

Reid will be sentenced in four weeks.