Armed officers and police helicopter scrambled after a sharp-eyed witness spotted a fully-loaded trailer being stolen in Lutterworth

Officers swooped in and stopped the vehicle in its tracks during the dramatic operation
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Armed officers and the police helicopter were scrambled after a sharp-eyed witness spotted a fully-loaded trailer being stolen from Lutterworth early today (Monday).

The dramatic full-scale 999 operation was sparked after the quick-thinking eye-witness raised the alarm just after 2am today.

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Officers raced to the scene after a secure compound was broken into on Bilton Way, off Leicester Road, Lutterworth, and a trailer full of make-up was stolen.

Armed officer and the police helicopter were scrambled after a sharp-eyed witness spotted a fully-loaded trailer being stolen from Lutterworth early today (Monday).Armed officer and the police helicopter were scrambled after a sharp-eyed witness spotted a fully-loaded trailer being stolen from Lutterworth early today (Monday).
Armed officer and the police helicopter were scrambled after a sharp-eyed witness spotted a fully-loaded trailer being stolen from Lutterworth early today (Monday).

The thief quickly attached a cab to the trailer before heading off along the A5 in Hinckley towards Warwickshire “when officers swooped in and stopped the vehicle in its tracks”.

Highly-trained firearms officers deployed in an armed response vehicle from Leicestershire Police Special Operations unit helped to stop the suspect during the hours of darkness.

The National Air Support helicopter also dashed to the scene as the crew assisted officers from the force’s Roads Policing team on the ground.

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A 35-year-old Wolverhampton man was arrested within just 30 minutes of the initial report being made.

The stolen trailer carrying the goods was swiftly recovered by police.

The suspect was arrested on suspicion of theft and remains in custody this afternoon as he is questioned by detectives about the incident.

Det Insp Charles Edwards, of Leicestershire Police, said: “This result shows the great teamwork by all those involved.

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“That initial call from a witness led to the arrest within half-an-hour and we’d like to thank them for their assistance.

“Our enquiries continue into the incident and the suspect remains in custody.”

Issuing a public appeal for information, he added: “If anyone witnessed the incident or the trailer being driven along the A5 and haven’t yet spoken to officers we would encourage you to do so.

“Also, if you were driving along the A5 in Hinckley around the time of the incident and have video recording equipment installed in your vehicle, we would ask that you check the footage and contact us if you have captured anything that may assist us.”

Anyone with any information is asked to contact Det Con 867 Nick Cox on 101, quoting crime number 21*285156.