A GANG stole a £7,250 caravan to order, hours after it was moved from a secure compound to a farmyard, a court heard yesterday.

Michael Hammond, prosecuting, told Harrogate magistrates that Brian Dale did a deal for the disposal of the caravan and moved it to a farm at Bogs Lane, Starbeck, near the town, so its new owner could pick it up.

Hours later, police spotted the caravan being towed by a van near Boroughbridge Road, Knaresborough.

When they stopped it, two men ran off. One was arrested but the other escaped.

Three hours later, the second man, James Quillan, 26, of Bewick Main Caravan Site at Birtley, Tyne and Wear, walked into a local pub, looking dishevelled. Suspicious drinkers called the police.

Quillan gave police the name James Brown. He maintained his fake identity throughout an interview, in which he said a man in Middlesbrough offered him £50 to drive to Harrogate and pick up a caravan, the court heard.

Quillan, who appeared in court via a video link from Durham Prison, pleaded guilty to joint theft, obstructing police and driving without a licence or insurance. He was remanded in custody to be sentenced on November 4.

A theft charge was dropped against William Joseph McPhee, 19, of Dales Street, Cramlington, Northumberland.