Stolen off-roader quickly recovered after work with neighbouring force

Police in Richmondshire are investigating the theft of an off-roader that was located within hours of it being stolen.

It happened overnight between the 29 November 2024 and the 30 November 2024, at Forcett Hall, and involved offenders gaining access to a shed and stealing a Kubota RTVX900 agricultural buggy, pictured.

Through joint work with Durham Constabulary, officers from Richmond Neighbourhood Policing Team swiftly located the vehicle in a remote wooded area on the outskirts of Darlington within six hours of the initial report.

The vehicle has been recovered for forensic examination by Crime Scene Investigators.

Neighbourhood Policing constable, PC Alex Wilkinson said: “Officers from Richmond Neighbourhood Policing Team take this crime very seriously and we will continue to work proactively to deter, detect, and disrupt this type of criminality.

"As a Neighbourhood Policing Team we are working very closely with our colleagues across the border in Durham Constabulary, the Rural Watch volunteers, our Rural Task Force, and other agencies to cripple the crime gangs that think that Richmondshire is an easy target.

“This is a message to them, we are not an easy target and we will be knocking at their doors very soon. North Yorkshire Police is dedicated to tackling cross border crime and protecting our border regions.

"These criminals have to be lucky every time but we just have to be lucky once, with our luck being backed up by intelligence and good old-fashioned police work."

We're particularly appealing for information, CCTV, and dashcam that may assist the investigation.

Please email [email protected] if you have any information that could help.

Alternatively, you can call North Yorkshire Police on 101, select option 2 and ask for PC 589 Alex Wilkinson, or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or via their website.

Please quote reference 12240218564 when passing on information.