Northumbria Police arrested two teenager burglars following an early-morning break-in at a community centre.
At about 04:45 hours this morning, Wednesday 10th February, Northumbria Police received a report of a break-in at Brinkburn Community Centre on Harton Lane, South Shields.
The 999 call from a member of the public, reported they had seen a group of males with balaclavas and tools at the side of the building, seemingly about to break in.
Officers were on the scene within three minutes, and as they looked for anything suspicious, they quickly spotted footprints in the snow leading to a drainpipe.
Believing the burglars had scaled it, the officers received support from the National Police Air Service (NPAS) and found further footprints on the roof, which they followed.
As the helicopter began to leave the scene, two teenagers decided to break cover and run straight into the arms of police who had contained the area.
Two males, aged 15 and 14, were arrested on suspicion of burglary and are in police custody.
Chief Inspector Nicola Wearing, of Northumbria Police, said:
“This was a brilliant all-round response from officers, our Dog Section and the brilliant team at NPAS.
“We were alerted to the break-in by a member of the public who saw something suspicious and absolutely did the right thing by informing us.
“What followed was a swift response, with cops on the scene within three minutes, and the heavy snowfall certainly played into our hands – and proved a significant stumbling block for our suspected intruders.
“With eyes on the ground and above from the helicopter, it was only a matter of time before we were able to detain two teenage suspects who will now be interviewed in connection with the incident.
“I’d like to thank everybody who was involved in this early-morning job – it was a fantastic piece of teamwork which has enabled us to achieve a quick and positive outcome.”
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