A SUSPECTED quad-bike thief was caught by police hiding in a Yorkshire Dales river.

Two people from Darlington were arrested in the early hours of Wednesday morning following the theft of bikes from the Reeth area.

Police were alerted to thefts from a property in Swaledale at about 3am.

Officers conducted a search and came across a quad-bike being ridden near the village of Grinton in convoy with a car.

As police arrived, the quad-bike was abandoned by the rider who then escaped on foot into the surrounding countryside. The car also drove off.

Officers searched the area with the help of police dogs and Cleveland Police’s helicopter.

They discovered a 21-year-old Darlington man hiding in the River Swale near Grinton. He was arrested at the scene and taken into custody.

Officers later stopped a vehicle nearby and arrested the occupant, a 36-year-old woman, also from Darlington, on suspicion of going equipped for theft.

The pair remained in police custody for questioning.

Officers recovered two stolen quad-bikes, one near the scene of the arrest and another at Fremington, near Richmond.

Inspector Mark Gee, from Richmondshire Safer Neighbourhood Team, said: “The swift arrests of these two suspects sends a clear message to travelling criminals that they will face the full force to the law if they have the audacity to steal from our communities.

“We have the intelligence and resources available to us to stop them in their tracks.

“We do not work in isolation but in partnership with other forces as well as our Border Watch patrols who, supported by the Hambleton and Richmondshire Community safety Partnership, do a fantastic job in protecting our rural communities.”

The bike – a Kawasaki Mule - which the suspected thief was caught riding belonged to farmer Paul Brown, from Grinton.

He said: “The first we knew about it was a when the police knocked on the door.

“The thief was driving off when the police bumped in them I understand.

“I think they were also in the village trying a few garage doors.”

A Fiat car was stolen in Reeth on the same night, although it is unclear if the thefts were connected.

Anyone with information should call 101, or anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800-555-111.