A MAJOR manhunt involving police across the country came to an end yesterday when officers arrested a man in the North-East.

Steven Maillard, 26, was arrested in connection with a stabbing in York early on Saturday, which left a 20-year-old woman seriously injured.

Detectives took the unusual step of releasing the wanted man’s name and photograph in an effort to track him down – and warned the public not to approach him.

Forces across the North were involved in the hunt, and an alert was issued for the victim’s car, a purple, M-registered Ford Ka.

The vehicle was spotted travelling north on the A19 towards Teesside at about 8.20am on Saturday.

The car was seen again 90 minutes later, travelling west on the A689 in County Durham, close to the junction with the A1.

The suspect – who is believed to be from Switzerland – was arrested by officers in Durham at 8.35am yesterday after a member of the public spotted him and the car outside the Durham Light Infantry Museum, at Aykley Heads, not far from Durham Police headquarters.

The member of the public had seen the appeals in the media and called the police immediately.

Ian Richardson, the visitors assistant at the DLI Museum and Durham Art Gallery, said that when he arrived at work yesterday morning, police were taking away the suspect’s car.

He said: “He was arrested in the vicinity. The police took CCTV footage from our camera, which covers the car park, for examination.

“Later, more than a dozen officers conducted a fingertip search in the car park and surrounding area.”

Inspector Phil Atless, duty inspector at Durham Constabulary’s control room, said last night: “We sent a number of officers and had sufficient resources to deal with the arrest.

“The person in question offered no resistance and was arrested.”

He added that the car was removed for forensic examination.

He said police had been alerted by their number plate recognition system to the car’s potential presence in the Durham area.

Mr Maillard was later transferred to North Yorkshire, where he was being questioned by York detectives last night.

The woman was found with serious stab wounds at a house in Lowther Street, York, at about 6.50am on Saturday.

She was taken to York Hospital, where her condition was initially described as very serious.

However, reports from the hospital yesterday said her condition was improving and she was now stable.