TWO men have been arrested after they left a petrol station without paying and stole £161 worth of fuel.

Police say the incident happened soon after 4pm yesterday November 11 at a service station on the A19 near Thirsk.

Read more: Popular pop duo Tears For Fears come to region next summer as part of world tour

A member of public spotted two men filling up large plastic drums with fuel, however they left the forecourt in their van without paying.

The member of public watched them leave and quickly phoned 999, according to police, and police officers immediately headed towards the area.

Pulling into another petrol station police were just around the corner and boxed the van in.

Officers say they found half a dozen containers of fuel inside the vehicle, some of which were reportedly leaking.

Two men in their 30s were arrested on suspicion of theft.

The Thirsk fuel station contacted police to say the van had made off with £161 worth of fuel.

Read more: Elderly victims lose £450k of life savings in “gold bullion” fraud scam

Police say the men have since been interviewed and charged.

--------

Keep up to date with all the latest news on our website, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

You can also follow our dedicated North Yorkshire Facebook page for all the latest in the area by clicking here.

For all the top news updates from right across the region straight to your inbox, sign up to our newsletter here.

Have you got a story for us? Contact our newsdesk on newsdesk@nne.co.uk or contact 01325 505054