Police arrest three suspected thieves in the space of 90 minutes all thanks to Sunderland residents

The first took place at around 4am on Wednesday, July 22 after officers were alerted to suspicious activity outside an address on Roedean Road in Red House, Sunderland.

A neighbour reported a man was dragging a wheelie bin around and had used a walking stick to damage the window of a parked vehicle before pocketing items from inside.

Police swiftly arrested a 29-year-old man on suspicion of theft from a motor vehicle after he matched the caller’s description.

Just over an hour later, officers were called to a building site on Weardale Avenue in Seaburn after another resident spotted two intruders acting suspiciously.

It was reported that the suspects, aged 32 and 30, were wearing dark clothing and had made off over nearby fields.

Within five minutes, policed had located both men and they were found to be in possession of a Stanley knife, pliers and gloves – both were detained on suspicion of going equipped for a burglary or theft.

Neighbourhood Inspector Steve Prested, of Northumbria Police, has praised the quick reactions of officers, as well as the members of the public who raised the alarm.

He said: “This was a case of two separate incidents that both involved neighbours spotting something that did not quite look right.

“It would have been easy to ignore what they had seen, given it was in the early hours of the morning, but they absolutely did the right thing by picking up the phone.

“Both reports were passed on to us quickly and with great detail, and that allowed officers to quickly hone in on the respective areas and locate suspects believed to have been involved in criminality.

“We often say that the public are our eyes and ears, and that was the case again overnight. I’m absolutely delighted that we were able to detain three men in connection with these two offences that were carried out within such a short space of time."

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