Three men arrested on suspicion of burglary after they were caught trying door handles in South Tyneside

Three suspected burglars have been arrested in South Tyneside after residents saw them acting suspiciously in the street shortly before 4.40am on Monday, August 21.

Police were alerted to three masked man allegedly trying door handles and looking inside parked cars on East Boldon Road, in Cleadon.

Officers were quickly deployed to the scene where it was alleged that a man who lived on the road had also been assaulted while trying to challenge one of the suspects who had entered his home.

Police searched the surrounding streets and quickly located three men a few streets away who matched the descriptions they received from witnesses.

The three men, aged 41, 48 and 56, were arrested, with one suspect having a car key in his possession believed to be linked to a recent report of theft in the Fencehouses area of Sunderland.

The 41-year-old man has since been charged with a number of offences, including burglary, attempted theft of a motor vehicle and assault as part of the investigation.

He is set to appear at Newcastle Crown Court in late September. The other two men were released on bail, pending further inquiries.

Detective Sergeant Angela Lewis, of Northumbria Police, has praised the quick response from officers to locate the three suspects.

She said: “This was a fantastic response with officers acting quickly on the concerns of the community.

“Thanks to their fast-time information and acting on the hunch that something wasn’t quite right, we were able to get to the scene swiftly and locate three suspects.

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“It was a brilliant piece of team work and information sharing between the public and our officers.

“As a result, we interviewed a man in custody who has since been charged in connection with not only this incident, but a number of others committed in the area that we suspect he was involved in.

“Two others were released on police bail while our investigation continues.

“We would always encourage anybody who sees anything they believe to be suspicious to get in touch as soon as possible. That way, we can continue to work together to ensure our region remains as safe as it possibly can be.”