Not so clever vehicle thieves caught by simple technology by Doncaster police this Easter weekend

On Thursday night officers were flagged down by a member of the public on East Lane in Stainforth.

It was reported that a Mercedes Sprinter work van, had just been stolen a few minutes prior.

The offenders had accessed the van without the keys and driven off into the sunset, or so they thought.

A spokesman said: “Officers obtained a description of the offenders and set off looking. Thankfully the van was equipped with a tracker, which gave us a rough idea where to look. Within 5 minutes of the van being reported stolen, officers found it parked up in Kirk Bramwith.

“Thirty minutes later the van was back with its appreciative owner.

“Please always consider a tracker, as it will massively increase the chances of seeing your vehicle again, should it be targeted by thieves.”

Officers then had a Black Ford Focus pass them in a hurry in Dunscroft. The driver didn’t want to hang around so dumped the car and decided to go fence hopping through gardens to avoid speaking with officers.

The spokesman said: “The driver did actually make a good escape, but has later been identified…….. by his own doorbell camera.

“Whilst looking for that driver an officer was stopped by another member of the public who reported a domestic violence incident.

“And finally, a red Volvo along with its occupants were stop searched whilst parked up in Edenthorpe due to the smell of cannabis emanating from it. No drugs were found on this occasion.”