Stolen timber is tracked down

A HAUL of suspected stolen timber worth thousands of pounds has been found after it was swiped from a building site in Blyth.

At about 11pm on Tuesday, officers from Northumbria Police were alerted to a theft from a building site in the Plessey Road area of the town.

A number of vans were then seen to leave the area and they were subsequently tracked by officers.

One van was found abandoned nearby and a short time later, police spotted a second vehicle travelling south on the A19 towards Seaham.

Officers then pursued the vehicle before the occupant made off on foot.

Inside the vehicle, police found more than £3,000 worth of suspected stolen materials.

Insp Matt Sykes, of Northumbria Police’s motor patrols department, said: “After we were made aware of the suspicious activity up in Blyth, we were deployed to the area and quickly located one van that had been left abandoned nearby. It was then a case of using every tactic at our disposal in order to track the other vehicles thought to be involved – and soon enough one was identified travelling southbound past Sunderland.

“Knowing we were hot on their heels, the occupants fled empty-handed – and we were able to successfully retrieve a significant stash of timber and building materials.”