Double arrest after stolen van crashes into ditch

Two suspects were arrested after a stolen van swerved all over the road at speed before crashing into a ditch.
Following alerts that a vehicle was travelling northbound along the A1 on cloned plates, response officers quickly attended the scene.
The vehicle was sighted shortly afterwards as it made its way into Balderton at around 3.50am on Tuesday (8 August), with police activating their blue lights as it joined the A46.
At that point, the driver ignored orders to pull over the van – which was confirmed as being reported as stolen from Leeds – and instead put their foot down on the accelerator.
A pursuit then took place through Kelham, near Newark, with the van driving on the wrong side of the road towards oncoming traffic to try and evade officers, who followed behind at a safe distance to reduce the chances of a collision.
The vehicle turned its lights off at points during the night-time pursuit, while it was also clocked travelling over 80mph in a 50mph zone, before eventually crashing into a ditch in Broadgate Lane, Kelham.
Two suspects were quickly detained at the scene by officers following the collision, while several boxes of suspected stolen car seats – valued at more than £2,500 – were then found inside the stolen van.
A 31-year-old man was subsequently arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving, theft of a motor vehicle, failing to stop, and driving while disqualified.
Police also arrested a 30-year-old man on suspicion of theft of a motor vehicle and theft from a motor vehicle.
PC Mike Drury, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “The standard of driving displayed by the person behind the wheel of the van was completely unacceptable and put everyone on the roads – including those inside that vehicle – in danger.
“Thanks to the superior driving skills of the officers involved in this pursuit in recognising the need to follow behind at a safe distance, and of course a bit of luck too, nobody sustained any serious injuries in this incident.
“We were also able to recover a vehicle reported stolen from a different force area, as well as a number of suspected stolen car seats, which were discovered inside the van.
“While we’ve arrested two suspects in connection with this incident, this is still an ongoing investigation, so we’d ask anyone who has any information to contact the police on 101, quoting incident 75 of 8 August 2023, or report it anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”