TWO suspected stolen quad bikes have been recovered and a man arrested after a late-night farm theft on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales.

A vigilant member of the public called North Yorkshire Police to report the theft of a quad bike in progress at a farm in Clapham, near Ingleton, at 3am on Thursday, September 20.

Officers responded to the call immediately, and located a man in a silver VW Passat in suspicious circumstances nearby.

He fled from the police, but officers found the vehicle crashed into a wall and abandoned a short time later.

The area was cordoned off, and officers and a police dog began a search of the area in darkness.

At about 4.30am, a 23-year-old man, from Bradford, was found under a table in a garden nearby by Police Dog Dixon.

He was arrested on suspicion of the theft of the car and the quad bike and going equipped for theft.

At 7am, a local farmer found the stolen quad bike, a red Honda 500cc, along with another quad, also suspected stolen, dumped in his field and contacted the police.

Both were recovered, and will be forensically examined before being returned to their rightful owners.

The man remains in custody.

PCSO Sally Breen from North Yorkshire Police’s Rural Taskforce urged quad bike owners to increase security on their vehicles.