A MAN has been arrested after suspected quad bike thieves were pursued by police in a high-speed chase in the Yorkshire Dales and Wharfedale.

At 2.30pm on Sunday, October 13, North Yorkshire Police received a call from a member of the public in the Kilnsey area, reporting two men behaving suspiciously around a premises where quad bikes were parked.

Police officers immediately made towards the area. At 3.20pm, a further report was received of an attempted quad bike theft at a premises near Starbotton. Two suspects were disturbed and left empty-handed.

At 3.50pm, officers spotted two motorcyclists near Bolton Abbey who reacted to the marked police vehicle by making off at speed, crossing onto the wrong side of the road and into the paths of oncoming vehicles.

Officers deployed a stinger ahead of the bikes in the village of Addingham. One motorcyclist made off, but the second dropped his bike and ran away over a hedge. Members of the public helped direct officers, and a man was found wet and covered in mud, a short distance from where the bike was abandoned.

The man, who is 18 and from Bradford, was arrested on suspicion of the theft of a motor vehicle, failing to stop, dangerous driving, and driving without a licence or insurance.

He has been released on bail – with a condition not to enter the Craven district for any reason while the investigation continues.

The abandoned motorcycle turned out to have been stolen from a property in Kilnsey the same day.