Pedalling police claim arrest success

The move comes after the town’s neighbourhood policing team (NPT) made several arrests last Friday evening alone.

In the first, they held a man in a supermarket car park who was wanted over an alleged public order offence. He had been spotted by an off-dity officer before the bike team gave chase.

Later, officers investigating suspected drug use in the Dalton Lane area saw a man they thought was supplying drugs.

After being chased by a police support officer on a bike, the man was held on suspicion of possessing controlled drugs and assault.

Although the Keighley team has been using cycles for several years, more officers are now being trained to pedal quickly.

Sergeant Andy Simpson said: “The mountain bikes are extremely useful in helping us cover a wider area in an environmentally-friendly way and give us a real flexibility in responding quickly to incidents.”

Local residents should start to notice the extra patrols soon, he added.