Last week, whilst driving through the village of Willington and onward over the bridge and causeway, police spotted a man acting suspiciously.

The lone male appeared to be attempting to bizarrely conceal himself in a 5-foot flowering hawthorn hedgerow.

With professional curiosity pricked, a local safer neighbourhood team officer jumped out of the police vehicle and challenged the startled man.

Local policing unit officers, based at Swadlincote Police Station, attended the incident – and for identification purposes the man was processed through a mobile fingerprint device.

It quickly emerged that the man, who was discovered approximately 400 yards from the outer fringes of Repton village, was wanted by police for the suspected theft of a motor vehicle.

The man was arrested.

Police would like to thank local motorists for showing great patience and understanding while officers dealt with the incident on the causeway - all helping to keep our community safe.