Police arrested two young people after launching a hunt using a helicopter and tracker dogs following the crash of a stolen Jeep in West Oxfordshire.

A member of the public called Thames Valley Police at 9.15pm yesterday to report a crashed grey Jeep Cherokee in Leafield Road, between Leafield and Shipton-under-Wychwood. The caller said they saw two people running away from the vehicle.

It was established that the vehicle had been stolen from a garage in Moreton-in-Marsh, earlier in the day.

Police officers, including a police dog unit, attended the scene and the dog soon picked up a scent across fields leading towards Shipton-under-Wychwood.

The force helicopter, based at RAF Henlow, joined the operation at 10.10pm, carrying out a search of the surrounding area.

After less than ten minutes, the helicopter crew located a man in a field near Ascott-under-Wychwood and directed crews on the ground to his location. The man hid in a stable block before climbing on to a garage roof in Shipton Road from where he threatened to jump off.

Police entered into negotiations with the man who was talked into coming down off the roof at about 10.40pm.

A 21-year-old man from Lydney, Gloucestershire, was arrested on suspicion of theft of a car and was taken to Banbury police station.

A 16-year-old girl from Moreton-in-Marsh was also arrested on suspicion of theft of a car. Both have been transferred to the custody unit at Stroud police station in Gloucestershire for questioning.

Det Sgt Richard White, of the Priority Crime Team based in Witney, said: “This was a prime example of Thames Valley Police combining its resources swiftly to achieve a successful end result.

“Currently we are working closely with our colleagues in Gloucestershire and West Mercia organising resources to tackle burglaries, one of the priorities in West Oxfordshire.

"Our swift response to this incident and the subsequent arrests are a direct result of this organisation of resources.”