We’ve all heard the expression ‘thick as thieves’, but stealing a 16t skip truck and then trying to outrun police takes some beating!
The skip hire wagon, from West Yorkshire, was spotted by police being driven erratically on the A19, near Hartlepool.
The vehicle failed to stop, and the driver then led the pursuing officers on a 10 mile chase – reaching speeds of up to a staggering 40mph! (Come on, it is a skip truck!) Even the police helicopter was involved.
The police believe that the vehicle may have been stolen from a compound in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire – 90 miles away.
The chase led police up the A19 and then turned off at Castle Eden and through Blackhall; eventually coming to an end outside Hartlepool. The pursuit was brought to a halt when police successfully deployed their trusty ‘stinger’ device, spiking the tyres of
the wagon.
The 30-year-old male driver was promptly arrested on suspicion of stealing the vehicle from Hutchinson Demolition, in Dewsbury.
A nearby resident, who witnessed the arrest, said: “It is not the kind of thing you expect to see in a police chase. I was expecting to see a car and people running about, but there was this great big skip lorry there.”
Andrew Hutchinson, a director at Hutchinson Demolition, said: “It was stolen from us at 10pm on Monday. It is worth between £16,000 and £20,000 and it was probably stolen to order.”
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Skip Truck Cop Chase
Skip Collision Man Charged
A Malmesbury builder has been charged with placing a skip on a public road without permission from the highways authority, following the death of a motorcyclist last year.
Adrian Carey appeared before magistrates in Chippenham last month, where the court heard of the tragic collision in which Carl Denley was killed.
Mr Denley, a 29-year-old carpenter, was travelling along Lodge Road in Chippenham on his way to work when his Triumph motorcycle collided with the skip. Paramedics arrived promptly, but Mr Denley was pronounced dead at the scene.
The skip, belonging to Porter Metals and Skip Hire of Chippenham, had been hired by Mr Carey and placed on the main road through the estate, behind the property at which he was working.
All skip hire companies are obliged to obtain a licence from the relevant local authority, permitting them to place a skip on a public highway. This is intended to ensure skips are placed safely and can be seen easily by fellow road users.
There is no excuse for flouting the law, but if such permits were priced rationally and fairly, this law would surely stand a better chance of being more readily adhered to.
