Stolen caravan tracked down within hours of its theft

A stolen caravan has been found by police and will be returned to its rightful owner – less than 24 hours after brazen thieves towed it away.

In the early hours of Friday 31 January, North Yorkshire Police received a report that a caravan had been stolen from a rural location near Knaresborough.

CCTV enquiries showed the Bailey Unicorn Madrid caravan being towed away a few hours earlier by a Land Rover. A broken lock was found at the location.

The same day, acting on information, officers from North Yorkshire Police’s Rural Task Force – supported by colleagues from West Yorkshire Police – attended a location in Leeds. There they found not only the caravan, but also a Land Rover Discovery with suspected fake number plates.

Both were seized and taken to a secure location for forensic examination – after which, the caravan will be returned to its rightful owner.

Sergeant David Lund, of the Rural Task Force, said: “This is an excellent result for the victim, and shows how we will work effectively with neighbouring police forces to track down stolen vehicles and property.”

With caravan thieves operating in our area, it’s more important than ever to implement security measures to protect your vehicle:

• Install CCTV in the place you park your motorhome or caravan, and consider fitting cameras inside. Lock access to your garden, driveway or garage - and invest in a removable driveway/parking post too.
• Security devices: fit a good alarm/immobiliser, and in particular a tracking device. Use steering wheel and pedal locks. And most importantly of all, keep all keys locked away safely in your home, well away from doors and windows.
• Get your vehicle - and any expensive property inside - security marked. Your local Neighbourhood Policing Team can help you with this. Just call us on 101. And while you're at it, remove any removable items from inside, particularly if they may be seen through windows.
• Take some good quality photos of your vehicle and keep them safe. We could use these to identify your vehicle if it were to be stolen and recovered.
• Report any suspicious activity around your vehicle to the police, so we can take action straight away.
• If you see a crime in progress, always call 999.