PROMPT action by police officers foiled a burglary attempt at a light railway station in the Forest of Dean early this morning, resulting in three suspects being arrested.

Police received a call from a nearby resident reporting suspicious activity in Forest Road, Lydney shortly after 5am this morning, and requesting police attendance urgently.

The witness, alerted by noise, reported lights at the scene and a number of people removing items through a window.

Police were at the scene in minutes and immediately gave chase on foot as the suspects made their escape and hid behind nearby buildings. Shortly afterwards three men were arrested nearby on suspicion of burglary.

A number of high value items were recovered during the enquiry.

Police detained the three male suspects, all locals aged 18,19 and 23 pending further investigation into this incident and possible other burglaries in the area over the past few weeks. They remain in custody.

Acting Police Sergeant James Wyatt, of Forest Incident Resolution Team, said: “This was an excellent piece of work by our officers. They deployed by car from Cinderford police station in just seven minutes or so, rapidly assessed the situation on reaching the site, immediately gave chase on foot in the dark, and made successful arrests just a few minutes later.  Our officers acted with the highest degree of professionalism, bringing the incident to a swift conclusion.

"My congratulations also to the very vigilant lady who called police, this was a highly responsible action and another example of the public and police working together to tackle crime.” 

Anyone with any information about the incident should contact Gloucestershire Police on 101, quoting incident number 40 of 10 April.