North Yorkshire Police has released a CCTV image after a number of incidents reported since 23 April in which a man has been trying vehicle doors in Bedale and surrounding villages, near Northallerton.
The most recent incident took place on Monday 3 May 2021 and all have occurred in the early hours of the morning, between 1am – 4.15am. The suspect is believed to try vehicle doors and a small number of items have been stolen from vehicles left unlocked.
Officers are appealing for the public’s help to identify a man pictured in CCTV footage who they believe may have information which could help this investigation.
The man is described as wearing a dark coloured woolly beanie style hat, a dark coloured jacket with a reflective logo on the front and back and dark trousers. He has a distinctive way of walking, seeming to favour his right leg.
Neighbourhood Policing Constable Sarah Norman said:
“We’ve completed a number of house to house enquiries in response to this spate of incidents and we are grateful to those local residents who have been able to provide CCTV footage to help the investigation.
“The suspect does not seem to break into vehicles, he appears to try the doors in order to find those that are unlocked so we’re urging everyone to ensure you keep your car and van doors locked. It’s easy to forget if you’ve remembered to lock up so it’s always worth double checking.
“Please be reassured we’re doing everything we can to locate the man responsible for these thefts so if you have any information which could help our investigation, please call 101 to report it.”
If you wish to remain anonymous, you can pass information to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Please quote ref: 12210104807 when you call.