Two men have been arrested after a dramatic police chase through Swindon led to the discovery of £2,000 worth of suspected stolen tools.

At 11.45am on Friday, November 8, the owner of a van in Washbourne Road, Royal Wootton Bassett, reported having tools worth thousands of pounds stolen from his van.

Officers from Wiltshire Police's road team wasted no time in chasing down the stolen items and just 25 minutes later, a black Mazda 3 with two men inside matching the description given was stopped in Hay Lane, Swindon.

After being pulled over by police, one of the men fled from the car on foot and was chased down shortly afterwards.

The car was eventually stopped on Hay Lane in SwindonThe car was eventually stopped on Hay Lane in Swindon (Image: Wiltshire Police) A significant number of tools, thought to be the stolen tools worth over £2,000, were found in the car.

Two men, aged 27 and 61, were arrested on the roadside on suspicion of theft from a motor vehicle, and are now being held in police custody.

The 27-year-old man was also further arrested on suspicion of driving without a valid licence and driving without insurance. 

"The theft of tools has a direct impact on the ability of professional tradespeople to earn a living, aside from the potential cost of replacing these tools," said roads policing officer Ben Greening.

“We are determined to respond robustly to any such reports, and have recently put additional resources in place to enable us to rapidly respond to any reports."

Anyone who witnessed the theft or could have dashcam/doorbell footage should call 101 quoting log 54240131997.

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