ARMED police, police dogs and a helicopter took part in a search for a man who ran off from a stolen vehicle.

North Yorkshire Police stopped a van which was pulling a trailer with a stolen roller mounted to it, at 12.30pm on Saturday, at Junction 48 of the A1(M) southbound, the turn off for Minskip, near Boroughbridge.

The roller had been reported stolen from a building site in Melmerby, near Ripon, by a site worker who followed the van and alerted police to its location.

A police spokesman said officers found the van, and the driver pulled over, but he ran from the scene.

A check found the van’s registration plates were false.

A spokesman for North Yorkshire Police said some good forensic evidence had been discovered to link to the offender, but no arrests had been made.