'Give yourself up' warning to criminals

Letters have been sent to almost 150 people wanted by police for skipping court.

It is part of the county-wide operation Maximum Impact on Crime, a collective strike in Yorkshire and Humberside on missing suspects.

Before the letters even arrived, three people wanted by police were arrested as part of the crackdown.

On Tuesday officers stopped a 61-year-old Rotherham man for driving while disqualified and discovered he was wanted for failing to appear at court on charges of indecent exposure in June.

They also caught up with a 16-year-old boy who failed to appear on a charge of theft.

In Doncaster, officers talked to a 35-year-old woman wanted for failing to meet the terms of her suspended prison sentence for burglary and drugs offences. She was due to appear in court in April.

The suspects are waiting in police cells until they are hauled back before the courts.

Since receiving the letter, which urges the reader to report to their local station, 21 people have been in contact with police.

n New website launches to snare criminals: see p4.