Police are searching the country for Britain's most wanted 12-year-old who failed to appear in court last week amid charges related to driving a BMW and towing a stolen caravan.
The youngster, from the travelling community, was due before magistrates last week, but with no permanent address, the court issued an arrest warrant for the young fugitive.
The incident occurred over a year ago when the boy, then aged 11, was apprehended driving a BMW X5 with allegedly cloned number plates.
Police caught the youngster after he had towed a caravan for 40 miles along the A1M in North Yorkshire, which has now prompted a search.
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Police officers admitted they were shocked to find out who was at the wheel NORTH YORKSHIRE POLICE The child could barely see over the steering wheel when officers finally intercepted him on the London-bound M1 at Garforth outside Leeds.
The boy was due to appear before Harrogate Magistrates' Court on Friday, 14 March, but failed to arrive.
A court spokesperson said: "A juvenile was due to appear before Harrogate magistrates charged with theft of a motor vehicle of value unknown, driving it dangerously and handling stolen goods, namely a caravan.
"The defendant has not attended and an arrest warrant has been issued," the Daily Mail reported.
Police officers face significant challenges in executing the arrest warrant without a permanent address to visit.
It has been reported that the family moves around frequently, making it difficult for the case to move to court.
Residents in the market town of Thirsk have long awaited the court trial after the caravan was stolen from a holiday site last year.
One local said: "The young lad is from the travelling community so it's taken quite a while to get the case to court, because he and his family move around so are difficult to contact."
They added that the police had a "job on their hands" in finding the boy and his family if they moved around so often.
The owner of the caravan, Janine Forth, took to social media site Facebook to explain what happened, saying that they arrived at the caravan site when it was being driven away.
She added: "If it hadn't been for quick thinking and the amazing response from the police, god knows what would have happened."
Forth noted the thieves had "wrecked the front end to get the tracker out" despite having "all the up-to-date security".
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A BMW X5 was found to be stolen during the incident
BMWAfter the theft, Sergeant Paul Cording expressed his astonishment at finding such a young driver. Speaking at the time, he said: "Even after over 23 years service, you come across things that you struggle to comprehend.
"Like yesterday when some great fast track work from the team identified a recently stolen caravan being towed by a vehicle on false plates, but then to find the driver was only 11 years old!"
