Two men arrested on suspicion of stealing a Range Rover in St Albans

Two men were arrested in St Albans thanks to a member of the public after a stolen Range Rover was driven into the county from London at high speed on Saturday (16 September).

The stolen vehicle was being followed by the Met police when it was spotted at Junction 3 of the A1(M) roundabout at Hatfield and followed onto the A414 towards St Albans, where it failed to stop.

The National Police Air Service were overhead and helped track the vehicle travelling at high speeds. It was pursued by officers from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Road Policing Unit and the Metropolitan Police Service, and corned into a cul-de-sac in Marconi Way, before crashing into a lamp post – just two hours after the theft in West London.

A member of the public helped detain one of the suspects.

PC Brad Glover said: “I’d like to thank the member of the public for helping to detain one of the men.  However, we would not routinely encourage members of the public to help for their own safety. The quick arrests meant we were able to take the vehicle, traveling at high speeds, off the roads – which may have prevented a serious injury collision to an innocent road user.

“This was a massive team effort. We worked closely with the Metropolitan Police, St Albans and Broxbourne Intervention teams, our Force Communication Room and Case Intervention Team (who deal with prisoners).”

Two men aged 20, and 21 from London, were arrested on suspicion of theft of a motor vehicle, failing to stop for police, dangerous driving, driving whilst under the influence of drugs, handling stolen goods and being concerned in the supply of class A drugs.  Both men have been bailed whilst enquiries continue.

A 20-year-old man has been charged with possession of class A drugs and bailed to appear at court.