A 17-YEAR-OLD was arrested after a quad bike was allegedly stolen.

Shortly after 7am on Monday, police received a report a vehicle had been stolen from a farm in the Humshaugh area.

The quad was fitted with a special tracking device, allowing officers from Northumbria Police's rural crime team to locate it, said police.

When the vehicle was identified in the Bishop Auckland area, officers from Durham recovered the quad.

The 17-year-old male was arrested on suspicion of theft and has since been released under investigation as enquires continue.

A force spokesperson said: "We know quad bikes are an essential part of farming and these types of items are expensive to replace and can cause significant financial and work-related stress for the victims.

"This was the farmer’s only available quad bike and the loss of it would have had a huge impact.

"The farmer absolutely did the right thing by contacting police as soon as possible and the fact he had fitted a tracker to his vehicle meant we were able to pinpoint the quad’s exact location and within hours, the quad was recovered and a suspect in custody.

"Thanks to the foresight of the farmer and his tracker and our colleagues at Durham, we were able to reunite the owner with his quad swiftly.

"We do all we can to tackle these types of crimes but measures such as trackers can have a huge benefit."