Caught in a flash! Roads Policing officers detain carjacker minutes after committing burglary in Rochdale

Thursday, 27 February 2025 15:45

By David Murphy

In the early hours of this morning (Thursday 27 February 2025), our Roads Policing Unit were made aware of a burglary that had taken place where a CUPRA Formentor had been stolen from Ennerdale Road in Middleton.

Less than 20 minutes from the call being received about a burglary in action, officers on patrol from our Roads Policing Unit found the stolen car nearby being driven by the suspects.
Enquiries are ongoing to locate the driver but as he fled he left his accomplice trapped in the vehicle who is linked to other burglaries.
Due to our proactive approach to crime we have seen an 18% decrease this year in relation to theft of motor vehicle incidents.

Within minutes, 18 precisely, our officers witnessed the car and following a short pursuit, a 19-year-old was left trapped in the vehicle by his accomplice and arrested on suspicion of burglary and theft of a motor vehicle. He remains in custody for questioning at this time.

The car was subsequently recovered and despite having minor damage was returned to the owner this morning.

Enquiries are continuing to track down the second suspect.

PC Pilkington from our Roads Policing Unit who conducted the arrest said; “This is a prime example of the work we are doing on a daily basis to catch offenders in the act. As a specialised unit we are constantly patrolling the roads across the whole of Greater Manchester and intend to respond to incidents as quickly as we can with the resources at our disposal.

“As we’ve seen on this occasion, that quick action from the report coming into us and then assisting response colleagues with the incident means we have had another positive result.

“We understand the distress being the victim of a burglary can have and that is why we are seeing decreases in key areas, with theft of motor vehicle incidents decreasing by nearly a fifth (18%) this year (in 2025).”

Anyone with information that can help with ongoing enquiries linked to the suspects and other potential incidents are asked to call 101 quoting incident 296 of 27/02/2025.

For crime prevention advice on how to keep your vehicle safe, visit: Keeping vehicles safe | Crime prevention | Greater Manchester Police