Motorcycle thief leads police dog pursuit in Maidstone

A motorcycle thief has let officers and a police dog in a pursuit in Maidstone. Daniel Tolhurst was detained with the assistance of Police Dog Boss after speeding recklessly through the town centre on a stolen moped.

Proactive patrols in Coxheath had initially reported suspicious activity involving two motorcycles, at 5am on Monday (November 11). Further resources were deployed to locate the vehicles and at 5.23am a stolen moped was spotted by officers in Calder Road.

Tolhurst was the rider and led police on a pursuit, ignoring demands to stop and weaving his way through traffic at dangerous speeds. He abandoned the moped in Gabriel’s Hill and attempted to evade capture by fleeing on foot.

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PD Boss was used to quickly track Tolhurst down and after he was arrested a balaclava, hammers and wrench were found discarded nearby. Tolhurst, 23, of Linden Road, Coxheath was charged with going equipped to steal, aggravated vehicle taking, dangerous driving, failing to stop for police, and driving without a licence or insurance.

On Wednesday (November 13), he pleaded guilty at Medway Magistrates’ Court and was sentenced to 44 weeks’ imprisonment. He was also disqualified from driving for a year and will have to pay costs and a victim surcharge totalling more than £250.

Maidstone Chief Inspector, Mark McLellan said: "Following a spate of motorcycle thefts over recent weeks, our officers have been proactively patrolling the areas we believed were most at risk. This intelligence-led response has helped us catch an offender in the act, and the discarded balaclava and tools were clearly indicative of Tolhurst’s intention to commit further crime.

"Offenders like Tolhurst prey upon hardworking and law-abiding residents, targeting vehicles and property with the aim of stealing anything they can get their hands on. On this occasion it is pleasing we can return the stolen moped to its rightful owner.

"Residents will hopefully also be reassured that Tolhurst has faced quick justice for his actions and is now rightly serving a custodial sentence.’