Hide and seek farmyard champion contender found by GMP’s Tactical Vehicle Intercept Unit

Officers from our Tactical Vehicle Intercept Unit (TVIU) sprung into action yesterday (Monday 13 May 2024) and apprehended a prolific burglar after a pursuit across a farmer’s field.

We received a call at around 12.50pm to reports that a man had taken a Range Rover Evoque from its owner on Town Lane in Denton, Hyde.

TVIU attended the location and found the vehicle abandoned but there was no sign of the suspect.

A short time later, one of our marked police vehicles turned a corner and disappeared around a bend while TVIU waited to see if they could locate the mystery man.

40 seconds later, a figure emerged from the bushes and proceeded to run across the farmland into an opposing field and into a set of trees.

After a short pursuit on foot, the suspect was in cuffs, arrested on suspicion of theft of a motor vehicle and dangerous driving before being transported to custody.

PC Oliver Rose from TVIU said: “This job is a good example of cross-collaboration between a number of departments including the Dog Unit.

“From the call coming in we responded to the incident in minutes, getting to the scene and locating the vehicle in question.

“Our patience and anticipation of where the suspect could appear from helped us in apprehending him, as he tried to make his way across a field and into the wilderness.

“Burglary offences are one of the force’s priority areas and we are determined to bring those responsible for these crimes to justice.”

Our response time to incidents have significantly improved over the past three years, attending emergency incidents well inside the national expected standard of 15 minutes. More information around our response times and the positives steps we have made can be found here: GMP quick of the mark: faster response times see improvements in responding to and fighting crime | Greater Manchester Police