A man has been arrested for allegedly stealing a vehicle from Poundbury and cloning licence plates.

Police detected the possibly cloned vehicle in Sherborne, and stopped it yesterday evening in Coldharbour.

The driver has been arrested on suspicion of theft of a motor vehicle, theft of two sets of number plates, driving without a licence and driving without insurance.

The vehicle which was previously stolen from Poundbury will now be returned to its rightful owner.

A 33-year-old male from Yeovil has been released under investigation.

A cloned vehicle is one that has another vehicle's number plate on it. Dorset Police says this can be done to hide the vehicle's identity to carry out criminal activity or avoid fines and tickets.

Additionally, another vehicle was found with false plates by police on patrol in Upwey yesterday. The true vehicle was stolen from Cerne Abbas, and will also be returned to its owner.

A spokesperson for Dorchester Police said: "The Neighbourhood Team continue to investigate recent reports of vehicle crime and are exploring a number of enquiries.

"Yesterday (Tuesday, November 5) we alerted our Sherborne colleagues to a possible cloned vehicle which was active in their area.

"The vehicle was subsequently stopped by officers from the Sherborne Neighbourhood Team and The Rural Crime Team yesterday evening on Coldharbour, Sherborne.

"A 33-year-old male from Yeovil has since been released under investigation whilst enquiries continue.

"Please continue to report your concerns to us so we can take the appropriate action and direct our patrols accordingly."

Anyone with information is asked to contact Dorset Police at https://orlo.uk/lHMs1 or by calling 101, quoting occurrence number 55240155683.

Alternatively, independent charity Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously online at https://orlo.uk/tmigB or by calling Freephone 0800 555 111.