Overview

• A silver Ford S-Max allegedly taken without permission collided with a stag sculpture and tree at the junction of the A174 and A1042 near Kirkleatham, Redcar, at about 9:34 am on May 26.
• The vehicle burst into flames after impact, prompting Cleveland Fire Brigade and police to close the roundabout and extinguish the fire.
• Officers arrested a 29-year-old man nearby on suspicion of drink-driving and aggravated TWOC shortly after the crash.
• Eyewitnesses described plumes of black smoke rising from the wreckage and saw a man being detained further along the road.
• Cleveland Police confirmed that enquiries into the circumstances of the vehicle’s theft, the crash and the subsequent fire remain ongoing.