Police thwart racecourse metal theft

A passer-by reported seeing four people cutting up the railings at York Racecourse and loading them into the back of a van at about 5.30pm on Monday.

Three men fled but were caught after police ran after them. A fourth was found hiding among the metal in the van, which was parked at the bottom of Cherry Lane, near a Holiday Inn hotel.

Chief Inspector Dave Hannan of North Yorkshire Police said: “It is very pleasing that the public are also taking this issue seriously and are reporting incidents to us and I urge people to keep letting us know about any suspicious criminal activity they see.”

Four York men, aged 18, 20, 23 and 34, were arrested and released on police bail.