A MAN has been arrested in a stranger’s backyard after leading police on a chase on a stolen scooter along roads and bike paths.
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It was next seen by police on Monday night as they conducted patrols on Union Road.
A group of three people had been acting suspiciously at a vacant block of land and police stopped to speak to them.
Two jumped a fence and a 21-year-old man grabbed the scooter and sped off.
He travelled along several roads and rode under a pedestrian underpass as police quickly converged on the area.
Officers lost sight of the man but located him again.
He dumped the scooter and ran down Coolaroo Court, and was found in the rear yard of a home.
The number plates had been taken off and other items removed.
Ms Van Kampen’s boyfriend Tyler Graham said it was good that police had found the scooter.
But the couple will have to pay about $1000 to get the missing parts replaced and damage fixed, which will take months of saving.
“Monica can’t get to and from work easily,” he said.
“The police are going to release it in the next few days.
“They way that they’ve described it is that he’s absolutely trashed it.
“He ripped off the headlights and electrics, stolen the helmet out of it, crashed it around and smashed it.
“We don’t have insurance.”
While the couple had initially been concerned about the way police handled the matter, Mr Graham said he was now happy.
“They rang us a couple of hours after they found the guy and let us know,” he said.
“They said the’d organise towing to get it back to us instead of us picking it up.
“They’re not going to charge us to do it.”
The man has been charged with vehicle theft and disqualified driving.
Albury police are investigating several pursuits in recent days and are trying to find the driver of a white Holden Commodore involved in several chases.
