Merseyside police carry out search of land next to Leeds-Liverpool canal

Merseyside Police officers have been searching the Leeds-Liverpool Canal path as we continue to target criminals using open land to store weapons and other items. Officers from the Liverpool Targeted Team completed an open land search of the canal covering Vauxhall to Lydiate yesterday, Monday 25 September. During the search, a 26-year-old man from Netherton was sighted on the canal path near to St Oswalds Lane in Bootle and rode off on a pedal cycle. Officers gave chase and recovered a set of bolt cutters. The man was arrested on suspicion of theft of a pedal cycle and going equipped for theft. He was questioned and has been released under investigation for further enquiries. Inspector Dave Brennan said: "We will continue to be proactive in combating weapons and other items being stored in open spaces on Merseyside, both to protect the community and raise people’s awareness. "Anyone who uses the canal path or any open land and green spaces in Merseyside should be alert to people behaving suspiciously and storing items in these areas. "Let us know any information and we will take positive action and remove any harmful items from the streets. You can speak to us directly or via the independent charity Crimestoppers." Anyone with information is asked to call 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. Information can also be provided via their online form: https://crimestoppers-uk.org/give-information/give-information-online.