Police helicopter crew help to recover van stolen in Mansfield
The crew of a police helicopter helped officers to recover a stolen van and bring two suspects into custody.
Police were called shortly before 7.30pm on Tuesday, October 7 after a flat-bed van was stolen from a commercial premises in Mansfield.
The vehicle was tracked to the Newark area before a passing helicopter from the National Police Air Service (NPAS) was called-in to help locate it.
The van was soon spotted parked up in the Tolney Lane area of Newark, before two running suspects were identified from the air.
With help from the helicopter’s powerful thermal imaging camera, officers in a passing car were helped to locate them.
A 21-year-old man and a 15-year-old boy were then arrested on suspicion of theft.
The van was recovered and several items of evidence were taken from the scene.
Det Insp James Oakton, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “We are grateful on this occasion to the crew of the police helicopter for providing a much needed eye-in the sky.
“We are also thankful to the member of the public who first called this in as soon as he noticed something he thought was suspicious.
“Thanks to the excellent description given to our control room, officers were able to successfully coordinate a very effective response.”