A MAN arrested after chasing motorbike thieves in his car has spoken of his six months of hell after being accused of causing the death of one of them.
Myles Schofield was surprised when police labelled him a criminal after he followed two men who stole his high-powered motorcycle from Mirfield.
The bike crashed, killing one of the thieves.
Mr Schofield, 39, had been trying to retrieve his bike when he got in his car, wearing just his underpants, and followed the thieves, at what he said were "sensible speeds".
But he lost them in Huddersfield.
A few hundred yards away the driver of his 1000cc Suzuki machine crashed on a bend.
Mr Schofield reported the theft and crash.
Both of the 18-year-old burglars were rushed to hospital, where one died.
Just hours later after Mr Schofield reported the incident he was horrified to be arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and told he faced 10 years in jail.
But after six months and a £3,000 legal bill he has been told there will be no charges brought against him.
The self-employed copywriter has now urged people to allow robbers to "take whatever it is that they have come for, because it is just not worth the aggravation".
Burglars broke into his mother's house in Mirfield, where he was staying in June last year. Mr Schofield disturbed them and they fled on his motorbike.
"Everybody I have told the story to says `well done' when I tell them that I chased two burglars," said Mr Schofield, from Brighouse.
"Then you say two people crashed and one died and obviously they think it's a tragedy. Then you say you were arrested and they say: `What?' "
A police spokeswoman said a crash investigation had to be caried out. She added that an inquest had yet to be held "so it would be inappropriate to comment further until it has taken place".
