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Would-be burglar Joseph Yates traced by police dog Coty and a drone in a field at Nackington, Canterbury

Dramatic video captured the moment a would-be thief was caught thanks to a police dog and drone.

The suspect, who has now been jailed, was arrested hiding in a field, having been caught within 40 minutes of targeting a property.

The film shows German Shepherd Coty on a lead charging through the long grass in hot pursuit of Joseph Yates after picking up the scent.

When he was spotted dog handler PC Lisa Milligan shouts: ”You’re under arrest, do not move.”

The footage shows Yates raising his hands in surrender with the drone surveying the scene from above.

Officers on patrol in the Nackington area of Canterbury spotted the 32-year-old running away from a business property while an intruder alarm was sounding in the early hours of last August 24.

It was afterwards found that entry to a storeroom at the premises had been forced but no items had been taken.

The moment the suspect raises his hands in surrender after being found by police dog Coty in Nackington, Canterbury. Picture: Kent Police
The moment the suspect raises his hands in surrender after being found by police dog Coty in Nackington, Canterbury. Picture: Kent Police

Yates ran and hid in a dense field near Langton Lane and could not be found until Coty picked up his scent and began to track his location.

Help came from drone pilot PC Andy Green, aided by PC Richard Gabriel, as Yates’ heat source was detected so officers could find his precise position.

He was arrested, searched and found to be in possession of a crowbar and the keys to a car found abandoned nearby.

Inside the vehicle was a pair of bolt croppers and other tools, as well as two canisters of nitrous oxide that were found to have been stolen from a location in Sittingbourne the previous day.

Yates pleaded guilty at Medway Magistrates’ Court to attempted burglary, handling stolen goods and going equipped for burglary.

Police dog Coty's keen nose helped trace the suspect. Picture: Kent Police
Police dog Coty's keen nose helped trace the suspect. Picture: Kent Police

He was sentenced to eight months in prison last Wednesday.

Supt Elena Hall of Kent Police’s Tactical Operations Command said: “When a crime is committed we are able to call upon officers with a wide variety of skills and specialist training who work together to ensure justice is served.

“On this occasion the expertise of drone pilots, a dog handler and officers on patrol helped to ensure a criminal was caught and arrested within 40 minutes of the offence taking place. The strength of the evidence against him was so strong that he had little choice but to plead guilty in court.

“I hope this case sends a strong message to other would-be offenders that with the technology now available to us through the use of drones and other advancements, there really is nowhere you can hide from the law.”

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