Man arrested following pursuit, assault and theft in North Cumbria

At around 12:40am this morning, Friday 12 October, police were informed that a BMW which had been stolen from the Strathclyde area was involved in a theft of fuel at Southwaite services.

Police patrols located a vehicle matching this description on the southbound carriageway of the M6. The vehicle failed to pull in for officers so police pursued the vehicle along the motorway. The BMW was later found abandoned on the hard shoulder of the southbound carriageway close to Tebay Services.

A lengthy and methodical search then took place involving dog handlers and other police patrols which were deployed to the area.

At 3.54am, police were alerted to an incident at Tebay Mountain Lodge hotel where a member of staff was assaulted by a man who is believed to have broken into the hotel. The member of staff was punched in the face before the man took the victim’s car keys and drove off in his car.

The stolen vehicle, a silver Suzuki, was later located by roads policing unit officers after it had collided on the B6261. A man inside the vehicle, a 34 year old man from Liverpool, was arrested on suspicion of the following offences:

-          Handling stolen goods
-          2 x driving while no insurance
-          2 x aggravated TWOC
-          Making off without payment
-          Failing to stop for police
-          Dangerous driving
-          Burglary
-          Common assault

He remains in police custody this morning for questioning.

Any witnesses or anyone with information that can help police with their enquiries is asked to contact Carlisle police on 101.