Shocked police stopped a BMW towing a caravan on the M1 - only to find it was being driven by an 11-year-old boy.

North Yorkshire Police said it received a call at 3.30pm on Thursday, March 7, reporting that a caravan had been stolen from a site near Thirsk and was being towed away by a black BMW.

Police say they were able to track the BMW, that also had cloned registration plates, travelling south on the A1.

Around 45 minutes later, officers stopped the vehicle and caravan on the M1 after it left the A1 at Hook Moor Interchange near Garforth.

Police said they were "staggered" to find a schoolboy sitting at the wheel.

A police spokesperson said: "A search of the car also revealed equipment typically used by suspects to carry out thefts and a selection of vehicle registration plates."

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They added: "Thanks to the quick work of our skilled roads policing officers, our control room and intelligence team working in the background, the rightful owners have been updated that their caravan had been found.

"No-one was injured during the incident."

  • A boy was arrested on suspicion of a number of offences including theft, burglary, going equipped for theft, and motoring offences including dangerous driving. He was questioned and has been released on conditional police bail to allow further inquiries to be carried out.