POLICE investigating a series of horsebox thefts arrested a man in Liss on Wednesday morning after he was caught red handed by a police drone camera.

Officers from Hampshire Constabulary’s Country Watch team supported Thames Valley Police’s Rural Crime team in the joint operation, in the Liss area at around 10.30am on November 24.

This followed an investigation into a series of stolen horsebox trailers across the two force areas.

A police spokesman said officers were able to confirm the presence of a stolen horsebox using a drone camera "from a discreet distance" before swooping on the site.

They added: "The drone located two men with the horseboxes and the registration numbers were confirmed by the drone operators, and the horseboxes were confirmed as stolen from the Thames Valley area.

"A quantity of money was then seen to be exchanged, a horsebox was then hooked up and towed offsite towards the A3."

The police drone carried on tracking the vehicle towing the stolen horsebox, until officers were able to stop it.

It then returned to the site and confirmed the man receiving the money was still present. He was later arrested by officers on the ground.

In total, three horseboxes and stolen items – believed to have spanned incidents from across the Thames Valley area – were recovered during the police raid.

A 25-year-old man from Liss was arrested on suspicion of theft, theft of a motor vehicle and handling stolen goods.

He was later released under investigation, pending further police enquiries.