Police deployed a helicopter in the pursuit of drug dealers and burglars, in a chase which ended in South Yorkshire.

North Yorkshire Police's specialist operations team, which is made up of firearms officers, roads policing officers, operational support unit and the rural task force spend their shifts were patrolling the county last night (October 22).

It began when roads policing officers stopped a vehicle in Harrogate town centre. The vehicle had previously made off from district officers before the roads policing team sighted it near the Stray and boxed it in at the Empress roundabout.

Two occupants were in the car and a quantity of what is suspected to be a class B drug was discovered on one of the men.

A force spokesperson said that a 19-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of possession of a class B drug. He currently remains in police custody.

Officers said they searched the other man and carried out a drugs wipe but this produced a negative result and he was free to go.

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Later in the night, shortly after 2.30am, a caller from the Selby area reported that he was being confronted by offenders who demanded his car keys whilst threatening him with several weapons.

"The suspects made off with the victim’s vehicle and travelled towards the South Yorkshire area," the force said. 

"Our intelligence team were working hard behind the scenes to identify a precise location of the vehicle whilst our specialist operations team were travelling at speed towards South Yorkshire.

"A short time later we sited the vehicle which didn’t want to stop for us, we followed it across fields before the occupants abandoned it."

A police helicopter and dog unit were then deployed to the area. A call into South Yorkshire Police resulted in three men being arrested.

Officers added: "Two of the men were hiding in a hot tub whilst the third man was found underneath a trailer in the back garden of a nearby property.

Two of the men were said to be hiding in a hot tub (Image: North Yorkshire Police)

"All three were transported to custody in South Yorkshire. At the same location officers found a cloned vehicle which was reported as stolen from the Humberside area.

"A further area search in Selby found the original stolen motor vehicle unattended and secure with various weapons inside. This was recovered as the investigation continues."

Detective Chief Inspector Shaun Page from North Yorkshire Police added: "Although we’re experiencing a recent spike in burglaries its important to say that North Yorkshire remains one of the safest counties in the country.

"That said, we’re not complacent and will continue to work with residents to help improve home security.

"I would urge people to take simple steps to protect themselves from burglars and if you have any questions speak to an officer or contact us via the force website."