A man was arrested after stealing an ice cream truck and leading police on a chase in Nottinghamshire, United Kingdom.
Police received a report about the theft at around 1 a.m. last Thursday, Sept. 3, as per the Nottinghamshire Police’s post on Facebook on the same day.
Following the call, authorities eventually spotted the stolen pink vehicle on a major road just before 1:20 a.m.
However, when they attempted to pull over the ice cream truck, the thief refused to stop as he continued to flee from the officers.
The department also noted that he drove “dangerously” while trying to evade capture. When the man finally stopped, authorities arrested him on suspicion of dangerous driving, driving without insurance and theft of a motor vehicle.
Following the capture, inspector Mark Stanley said it was not “too difficult” to track the truck, noting that it was an “unusual getaway vehicle.”
“Although it’s a comical tale, this is someone’s livelihood and a crime like this could have had a devastating impact,” he stated. “I’m glad that we’ve been able to return the van quickly and hopefully [minimize] the disruption to its owner.”
Days after the arrest, police reached out to the truck’s original owner, Mohammed Yousaf.
“We were sleeping and a neighbor heard something, so he knocked on our door to let us know. It was a bit of a shock, but I called the police and they got onto it straight away,” his wife, Bushra, recalled.
She also stated that they were still in shock over the incident. Despite this, they were relieved over the return of the truck, which is Mohammed’s main source of income.
“The theft of commercial vehicles can have a really big impact on small business owners who often rely on them to make a living,” Stanley stressed.
The thief, who was identified as Gavin Fouracres, has pleaded guilty to theft of a motor vehicle, driving without due care and attention, driving without insurance, driving otherwise than in accordance with a license and failing to stop for police.
He has since been disqualified from driving for 18 months, given a 12-month community order and sentenced to 60 hours of unpaid work. Ryan Arcadio /ra
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