Watch as police officer in Northampton borrows bike from man to chase drug dealer in Beckets Park

A quick-thinking police officer and a helpful member of the public teamed up to take down a drug dealer.

At about 11.45am on August 23, a member of the public in Northampton town centre called Northamptonshire Police to report a possible drug deal taking place near Commercial Street. The man involved was Sean Christopher Prosser, aged 28, of no fixed abode, and when officers arrived, he made off on a bicycle.

However, response officer PC Lewis Marks, was one step ahead of him, and was driving his police vehicle to Beckets Park where he believed Prosser could have been heading. His hunch turned out to be correct because as he turned the car from Victoria Promenade into Beckets Park, a member of the public pointed him in the direction of Prosser who was cycling across the park towards Bedford Road.

Knowing that his vehicle couldn’t enter the park and that he’d be unable to catch Prosser on foot, PC Marks asked another member of the public whether he could borrow his bike, using it to cycle across the grass and intercept the drug dealer opposite St John’s car park where he was tackled to the ground.

Following a search, Prosser was found to have a large quantity of cash and phones with messages related to drugs supply on them. A CT scan the next day also identified a plugged Kinder egg toy case which contained wraps of heroin and crack cocaine.

Prosser was charged with two counts of possession with intent to supply Class A drugs, escaping from lawful custody, acquiring/using/possessing criminal property, being concerned in the supply of cocaine, and being concerned in the supply of heroin.

He pleaded guilty to the offences at Northampton Crown Court at the beginning of October and returned to the same court last week (December 1) where he was sentenced to three years and eight months in prison.

Neighbourhood Policing Inspector Beth Warren said: “This incident was an example of good old-fashioned policing where our officers and members of the public worked together to take down a man whose actions were a blight on the community. The quick thinking of PC Marks ensured Prosser was arrested swiftly and I’d also like to take the opportunity to thank the member of the public who let us borrow his bike. Tackling drug harm is a matter of priority for Northamptonshire Police and I hope this case demonstrates how quickly we act on community intelligence in order to make our town a nicer place to live.”