A GANG of suspected thieves have been arrested after intruders smashed into a home and then led police on a dangerous high-speed pursuit.

Police received a report that four men had broken into an address on the West Road in Newcastle at 4.45am on Monday.

They stole a number of goods from the property, including the occupant’s mobile phone, and made off from the area in a car.

Officers were on scene within four minutes and were able to use a tracker on the stolen phone to locate the vehicle believed to have been used by the thieves.

Specialist motor patrols officers pursued the vehicle until it was abandoned near to the Blue Star Football Club.

The suspects tried to escape the vehicle but two men – aged 32 and 25 – were arrested and taken into custody. A haul of suspected stolen property was also recovered.

Chief Inspector Alan Pitchford said: “This was a fantastic example of teamwork between our response officers and specialist operational units.

“We have been on scene within four minutes and have quickly been able to track some of the stolen goods before ensuring that we safely pursued the target vehicle.

“That has resulted in two suspects being brought into custody as well as the recovery of a haul of goods believed to have been stolen in this burglary.

“We hope our quick response, and the arrest of these suspects, will reassure our communities that we are committed to tackling this type of criminality.”

The two men arrested remain in police custody at this time after being arrested on suspicion of burglary.