Guildford van driver gives a lift to PC chasing cycling suspect
Surrey Police thanked a Good Samaritan van driver who gave a PC a lift while he was running after a suspected shoplifter escaping on a bicycle along Woking Road in Guildford.
When a suspected shoplifter pedalled off along Woking Road in Guildford on Tuesday, one PC found himself giving chase on foot. Help arrived on four wheels.
Surrey Police thanked a “Good Samaritan” van driver who stopped and offered the officer a lift mid-pursuit. Working together, the van driver and officer were able to spot where the suspect had gone and get ahead of him. The alleged cyclist was arrested at the scene.
Real photo: Woking Road crossing the River Wey, Guildford (August 2024) – not from the chase. Photo: DS Pugh / CC BY-SA 2.0 (via Geograph 7864729).
AI illustration – imagined chase scene. (Spot Gaz, our gorilla, hiding somewhere in this picture.)
AI illustration – imagined punchline; not the actual van or arrest.
No names were released for the driver, the officer or the suspected shoplifter. Next time you see a plod puffing along Woking Road, maybe keep the passenger seat free – Surrey’s finest might need a lift.
Reported by BBC News (Craig Buchan, Surrey, ~5 Nov 2026).
