A helicopter and sniffer dogs were deployed as police tracked down two men alleged to have crashed a stolen JCB.

Officers swooped on Chartham, near Canterbury, last night following reports of suspicious activity involving a yellow digger.

The JCB, which was reported stolen 12 miles away, failed to stop when signalled in Bolts Hill just after 8.30pm before it crashed into a hedge in Parish Road.

Two men then fled the scene on foot.

In an effort to track down the men, police scrambled a helicopter and sniffer dogs.

A 51-year-old man from Ashford and a 39-year-old man from Dover were found and arrested on suspicion of theft. They remain in custody pending further inquiries.

The JCB is reported to have been stolen from Ottinge, near Lyminge.

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