Police are appealing for information about a man named as wanted by the National Crime Agency who they believe has been sighted in Lancashire.
37 year old Brian Thexton, who is wanted by the NCA and by Durham Constabulary, was sighted in a vehicle in Lancaster at around 9am this morning and was asked to pull over on Aberdeen Road by an officer.
The vehicle, a white Vauxhall Insignia, pulled over and the officer walked over to the vehicle to speak to the driver, believed to be Thexton. As the officer was speaking to the driver, he reached into the vehicle to remove the keys from the ignition, at which point the car was driven away trapping the officer’s arm and dragging him a short distance down the road. Fortunately, the officer freed himself before he was seriously injured. The car was then driven away at speed, mounting the kerb, narrowly missing pedestrians.
It was found a short time later having been set on fire on Fenham Carr Lane, close to Williamson Park.
Detective Inspector Bev Foster said, “Following the incident this morning, we have set up a team of officers dedicated to tracking this person down and we are liaising with a number of other forces across England as well as the National Crime Agency.
“We are particularly keen to speak to anyone who may have seen any suspicious activity on Fernham Carr Lane, or perhaps may have seen the vehicle being abandoned to get in touch as soon as possible.
“This man has shown himself to be dangerous and to have very little regard for his actions and so we would ask the public to be vigilant and not to approach him but report any sightings to the police immediately – any details the public may have could be crucial.”
“If anyone thinks they have seen him or if they have any information at all, then I would urge them to come forward and contact us.”
• People with information can contact police by calling 101, alternatively, they can call the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111