Boy, 15, arrested after delivery car stolen

A 15-year-old boy has been arrested after a delivery car was stolen in Stoke-on-Trent.

Shortly before 6.25pm on Saturday (19 October), the driver of a red Nissan Note had left the car running while delivering food to a house on Whitehouse Road in Abbey Hulton.

When he turned around, someone had got in and drove away at speed.

Once it was reported to us, we started immediate work to track down the stolen car. It was found on Godfrey Road, parked up and locked.

Witnesses reported around four young men leaving the car when it was abandoned. We carried out a search in the area and found one teenage boy hiding nearby. 

A 15-year-old boy, from Stoke-on-Trent, has been arrested on suspicion of car theft.

He has since been bailed with conditions while we continue to investigate.

Inspector Victoria Ison, from the Stoke North local policing team, said: “We’re determined to take robust action against those responsible for theft, burglary and robbery across Staffordshire.

“Incidents like this show that there are opportunists out there looking for a chance to easily steal from members of our community.

“I’d like to urge delivery drivers not to leave their vehicles unattended when dropping off goods and to make sure their vehicles are secured when they’re left unattended.

“Local officers are proactively compiling intelligence on those involved in theft and burglary across the city, and we’re determined to use all the tools we have available to stop them.”

If you’ve got any information that can help us with our investigation, get in touch by calling 101, quoting incident 635 of 19 October, or by using Live Chat on our website.

For specific advice on how you can protect your car from thieves, visit our website here: Preventing car and vehicle theft | Crime Prevention | Staffordshire Police