Police want to find and ‘personally thank’ person who gave up their bike to help in police chase in Rotherham

Police are appealing for help to locate a member of the public whose quick thinking helped an officer arrest a man on suspicion of vehicle theft.

South Yorkshire Police shared footage of a “strange” chase which saw a driver reversing a white Range Rover down 60mph roads and reaching speeds of 80mph in 30mph zones.

After the vehicle crashes and the driver flees, the video shows a member of the public giving an officer their bike, and shouting “go get ‘em!”.

This helped the officer make ground on the suspect, with a 25-year-old man later arrested in a garden on suspicion of theft of a motor vehicle.

The 25-year-old who was arrested has since been released on police bail. 

A second suspect, believed to be the driver of the Range Rover Evoque, remains outstanding.

Police are appealing for help to locate the person who gave their bike to the officer so they can thank them for their actions.

Cherie Buttle, Chief Superintendent for SYP’s Operational Support Unit, said: "I would really like to personally thank the member of the public who gave up their bike to assist our officer in his pursuit of a suspect.”

Subscribe to The Star’s free newsletter

Buttle added: "Our dedicated officers go to great lengths to tackle crimes and bring criminals to justice, but we couldn't do it without the support of our communities.

"This person's quick thinking in offering up their bike without hesitation helped us detain a man on suspicion of theft of a vehicle and their assistance in this pursuit really was invaluable."

If you are the person who offered up their bike in relation to this incident, or if you have more information about the outstanding suspect, please make contact online or with the force control room on 101, quoting incident number 805 of April 10.