Boy, 11, is arrested after police find him at the wheel of a BMW X5 towing a ‘stolen caravan’ along the M1

An 11-year-old boy has been arrested after police officers found him at the wheel of a BMW X5 on the M1, towing what they believe is a stolen caravan. 

Officers from North Yorkshire Police stopped the vehicle after a caravan theft was reported to the force, and found the schoolboy inside. 

A spokesperson for the force said that at around 3.30pm yesterday they got a call about the theft from a holiday site near Thirsk and were informed it was being towed away by a black BMW.

They said: ‘We were able to track the BMW, that was also using cloned registration plates, travelling south on the A1. 

‘Forty five minutes after the caravan was reported stolen, we stopped the vehicle on the M1 after it left the A1 at Hook Moor Interchange near Garforth.

Officers from North Yorkshire Police stopped the vehicle after a caravan theft was reported to the force, and found the schoolboy inside

‘But, nothing prepared us for finding the schoolboy sat at the wheel. 

‘A search of the car also revealed equipment typically used by suspects to carry out thefts and a selection of vehicle registration plates.’

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 North Yorkshire Police spokesperson said no-one was injured during the incident. 

They added: ‘Thanks to the quick work of our skilled roads policing officers, our control room and intelligence team working in the background, the rightful owners have been updated that their caravan had been found.’

The force said it has seen an increase in caravan thefts in the region recently.

It recommends all owners take measures to try and deter thieves, such as installing CCTV, fitting alarms and tracking devices, and taking good quality photos of their vehicle to help it be identified by police if it is stolen.