One man has been jailed and another given a suspended sentence after after stealing a refrigerated van full of fish as the driver was making a delivery.

Officers were called to Bradford-on-Avon at approximately 11.30am on Saturday, August 17,  following a report that two men had made off with a Maximus white refrigerated van whilst the driver was carrying out a delivery in St Margaret’s Street.  

The vehicle was sighted travelling towards Bath and details were passed to officers who managed to locate and safely stop the van, swiftly making two arrests.

(Image: Wiltshire Police)

Darryl Chick, 37, of no fixed address, Bath, and Arthur Veysey, 39, of Rossiter Road, Widcombe, were charged with multiple offences.

Both men were remanded in custody and appeared at Salisbury Magistrates' Court on Monday, August 19. 

Veysey pleaded guilty to theft of a motor vehicle, drink driving, disqualified driving and driving with no insurance and was sentenced to 16 weeks imprisonment.  

Chick pleaded guilty to taking a vehicle without the owner’s consent and was given a three-week prison sentence suspended for 18 months and fined £100.  

Firearms officer, Ben Agate said: “The arrest of these two individuals was as a result of multiple departments including Trowbridge Response officers, Special Constables attached to the Road Policing Unit and Specialist officers working together to respond, investigate and detect crime.

“From the initial 999 calls, it took officers just 13 minutes to sight the stolen vehicle, and a further 10 minutes to arrest the two men and bring this incident to a safe conclusion and ensure the offenders were put before the earliest court.

“I hope this sends a positive and reassuring message to members of the public that reports of this nature are taken extremely seriously.”

The incident was posted on the Wiltshire Specialist Ops X page at the time.

The post said: "ARV & RPU responded to a stolen van full of fish. We followed our noses and with the nets set it was a catch and NO release for this driver. 23 mins the van was outstanding and now the drunk driver is coming to our plaice. Save the beer for the batter!"

They accompanied the post with the hashtag '#CatchOfTheDay.'