'Rapscallions' stole cherry picker and took it for a late night test drive around Bolsover

Officers caught the offenders in the act while they were driving the cherry pickers in the early hours of the morning.

While police from the Derbyshire Roads Policing Team managed to arrest one of the thieves, the other escaped from the scene.

In a post on Twitter, the force called the crime ‘strange’ and labelled the offenders ‘rapscallions’ – an archaic term which refers to a mischievous person.

The use of the unusual phrase was applauded by one social media user who commented: “Worth a like for your use of the word rapscallion. Erudite!”.

While another person replied to the tweet and said: “How stupid could you be! Absolute idiotic behaviour. Hope you find the escapee. Covid fines aswell! #stayathome”.

Residents should call either 999 in the event of an emergency or 101 for non-urgent information.

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