A sledgehammer was used to smash the windows of the Whitby Jet Shop in Church Street, Whitby, in the early hours of today (Monday, August 19), North Yorkshire Police said.
Three men in their 40s were arrested and remain in police custody, a force spokesperson added.
A police cordon remained in place this morning in Church Street so forensic examinations could be carried out.
The suspects had fled the scene when officers arrived at 2.11am – four minutes after the incident was reported to police, the force spokesperson said.
A member of the public passed on the details of a vehicle that they believed was involved in the burglary.
Officers caught up with the vehicle on the A171 heading towards Middlesbrough but the driver failed to stop, reaching speeds of over 100mph, the police spokesperson said.
“We pursued [the vehicle] and observed a sledgehammer been thrown out of a window before we stung it and boxed it in with three police vehicles,” they added.
North Yorkshire Police’s area commander for Scarborough and Ryedale, Superintendent Rachel Wood, said: “I would like to thank the member of the public who provided the information to our Force Control Room to allow us to swiftly track down this vehicle.
“It was a great example of teamwork from two different forces who were pivotal in securing the arrests of three individuals.
“There are no borders, and we will continue to be relentless in our pursuit of cross border crime and travelling criminality.”
