Man charged after officers stop burglary in progress in Barnham

A man has been charged after officers stopped a burglary in progress in Barnham.

Police were called to a building site in Yapton Road around 2.15am on Tuesday 4 July following reports of a small crane having been stolen.

Response units were deployed to nearby cash machines and came across a crane attempting to steal an ATM from a supermarket in Barnham Road.

A man was detained and arrested at the scene after a short foot chase.

Alfie Smith, 43, of Staines Road West, Ashford, Middlesex, has subsequently been charged with burglary with intent to steal and aggravated vehicle taking. He has been remanded in custody to next appear before the court on August 2.

A 37-year-old man has also been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit burglary. He has been released on conditional bail while enquiries continue.

Anyone who witnessed the incident, or has any information or footage that could help, is asked to contact police online or via 101, quoting serial 1624 of 03/07.