Police in North Yorkshire were engaged in a helicopter and vehicle chase in the early hours of Sunday morning (November 24) following report of a gator on the motorway.
Road units and the police helicopter was dispatched shortly after 5:00a.m, when the force control room received a call from a member of the public who has witnessed an off-road vehicle, travelling with a car, along the A64 near Bilborough Top services.
10 minutes later, a John Deere Gator evaded a police officer who attempted to stop the vehicle in its tracks on the A162, triggering a subsequent pursuit of the gator, shortly before it was abandoned in Sherburn, North Yorkshire Police confirmed.
They received an additional tip off from another member of the public relating to the whereabouts of the driver of the gator, which they believe, was recently stolen from the Humberside area and are currently undertaking inquiries in relation to its exact origins.
They are appealing to that same individual to get in contact with them again for further questioning.
The car believed to have been travelling alongside the Gator was located and stopped by a road policing unit near Micklefield.
Its occupants, three men and one woman from the West Yorkshire area, were arrested on suspicion of vehicle theft and remain in custody, police report.
Meanwhile, in a separate incident near York on Saturday night, North Yorkshire police have reported that another of their road policing units recovered £53,000 worth of gin, following reports of a break in at a distillery in Barton-Le-Willows earlier.
Officers were dispatched to the A64 shortly after the station received a call at 12:40a.m from an individual who had witnessed a group of men breaking through the gates of the business premises in question.
Following this dispatch, police attempted to stop a HGV and a car driving behind in close succession near Askham Bryan.
The car was stopped and it’s four occupants were detained, however, the two people on board the HGV, alighted the cab while it was still moving, evading police capture.
Police then launched a man hunt, deploying the force’s police dog Rhun who, working alongside his handler, tracked the scent and the footprints of the two missing suspects over 7km of fields and woodlands, before eventually discovering the duo hidden in a haystack on a farm.
Police have confirmed that the HGV eventually came to a halt in the live lane of traffic without causing any damage to infrastructure or vehicles. Inside, over £50,000 of gin was discovered, which was they suspect was stolen during the the distillery burglary.
In total six people from the West Yorkshire area, two aged in their 20s, three aged in their 30s and one in his 50s, were arrested on the night in connection with the burglary.
They all currently remain in police custody, where investigation are ongoing, police said.
