Dyfed-Powys Police: “We will pursue all possible tactics to stamp out quad bike thefts.”

THAT is the message from Dyfed-Powys Police as a man is sentenced for stealing a quad bike, which collided with a police car during a pursuit.

The force is targeting the theft of these vehicles following a recent spate, particularly in the Powys area.

Officers were called to a farm in Sarnau on August 3, 2019, where an 82-year-old man had reported a quad bike he had bought just days earlier as stolen.

Sergeant Thomas Songhurst said: “The victim had kept the quad bike in a locked outbuilding, and had taken the necessary precautions to secure it overnight.

“However, on waking the following morning, he saw that the lock on the building had been cut and the quad bike was missing.

“The thief had quite brazenly removed an older quad bike and trailer, which he left on the farmyard, in order to access the vehicle he wanted to take.

“That, along with the fact that he left valuable farm equipment untouched, goes to show that this was a targeted burglary, with the sole aim of stealing a quad.”

Before the theft had been reported, police on patrol had intercepted the stolen quad bike on the A40 after it failed to stop.

Officers had been made aware of the quad bike traveling in convoy with a red Volkswagen Golf, which raised suspicions that it was stolen.

Sgt Songhust said: “Officers followed the quad bike, and the driver pulled away when he saw the police vehicle. He did not stop when requested, and a tactical containment was carried out, ending with the quad bike colliding with the police car.

“As a result, the quad was recovered and the driver was arrested.”

Ieuan Evans, aged 25, of Merthyr Tydfil, was charged with failing to stop for police, driving without insurance and taking a vehicle without consent.

He was sentenced to a community order and 80 hours of unpaid work when he pleaded guilty at Merthyr Magistrates’ Court on Friday, November 8. He was also disqualified from driving for six months and must pay £85 costs plus a £90 victim surcharge.

Sgt Songhurst said: “We are receiving more and more reports of quad bikes, which has a huge impact on people working in the farming industry.

“These vehicles are vital pieces of equipment and cause huge disruption when they are stolen.

“As this footage shows, we will do all we can to find those responsible and bring them to justice.”