Boy, 11, stopped after driving a BMW and towing a caravan on M1

Officers were shocked when they realised the age of the boy behind the wheel

An 11-year-old boy was arrested after being stopped for driving a BMW and towing a caravan on the M1.

Officers received a report a caravan had been stolen from a local holiday park near Thirsk, and was being towed away by a black BMW at around 3.30pm on Thursday.

North Yorkshire Police tracked the car, which was using cloned registration plates and travelling south on the A1.

The vehicle was intercepted on the M1 after it left the A1, at Hook Moor Interchange near Garforth, around 45 minutes after the report was made.

But when officers stopped the vehicle, they were “not prepared” to find a schoolboy behind the wheel.

Police then searched the car and found equipment typically used by suspects to carry out thefts, and a variety of registration plates.

The 11-year-old was arrested on suspicion of several offences including theft, burglary, going equipped for theft, and motoring offences including dangerous driving.

Officers questioned the boy, who has since been released on conditional bail to allow further enquiries to be carried out.

The caravan was returned to its rightful owner and no one was injured.

North Yorkshire Police added: “Thanks to the quick work of our skilled roads policing officers, our control room and intelligence team working in the background, the rightful owners have been updated that their caravan had been found.”

Officers advised caravan owners to take extra precautions after seeing a surge of thefts in the area.