A VIGILANT resident has been praised by police after her call led to the arrest of a suspected burglar.

Officers received a call from a 23-year-old woman reporting a garage had been broken into on Regent Court, in Gateshead town centre, at 7.35pm on Monday.

A number of winter tyres were found to have been stolen.

However, the woman rang police again at around 11.45pm that evening after spotting a light shining inside another garage.

Officers found a 26-year-old man loitering in the area.

He was arrested on suspicion of burglary and a number of suspected stolen goods - a box of new brake discs - were recovered.

Inspector Harninder Bola said: “I want to thank the victim of this crime for remaining vigilant and reporting the suspicious behaviour to us.

“If something doesn’t look right then we would always encourage residents to give us a call so that we can check it out.

“It may be that your call helps us to prevent other people from falling victim to crime or it may help us solve an outstanding crime.

“Our investigation into these garage burglaries are ongoing and if you have any information about the activity then please get in touch.”

The 26-year-old man arrested has since been released under investigation pending further inquiries.

The snow tyres are still outstanding but other car parts were recovered that had been stolen from within the garage.

  • Anyone who wants to report suspicious behaviour can do so by calling the police on 101 or filling out an online reporting form at www.northumbria.police.uk.