A POLICE helicopter helped catch a suspect after an early-hours van break-in.

A member of the public in Royal Wootton Bassett spotted that the back doors of a van in the Orchard Mead area were slightly ajar in the small hours of Monday morning.

Items from the van were strewn along the road and pavement. The eagle-eyed citizen quickly reported this to the police.

A spokesman for Royal Wootton Bassett and Cricklade Police said: "With the help of the eye in the sky, our sky-bound colleagues from the police helicopter managed to trace and locate one of the males involved.

"He was then arrested by Team 1 and is currently at Gablecross Police Station in Swindon.

"Can we ask the community in this area to please check their vans. If you do have missing tools or contents from your van, please can you contact us on 101 and report this?

"If they have their own personal CCTV, contact police."

Residents claimed on Facebook that their vans had also been targeted at around the same time as this incident.