A 19-year-old Huddersfield man has been arrested today following a police search involving a helicopter and armed officers.
Residents of Lowerhouses woke in the early hours of this morning (Monday) to a police helicopter loudspeaker announcing: “This is the police, you are surrounded.”
The search and arrest was related to “suspicious activity” in Sheepridge.
A police spokesperson said the suspicious activity was reported in Scott Vale shortly before 1.20am.
They continued: “A motorcycle with two people on it was seen in a garden of a property. The motorcycle left and returned a short time later with both people on it reportedly carrying weapons.
“A 19-year-old man, from Huddersfield, was arrested in Longley Road"
“On the arrival of officers at the scene, the motorcycle had left the property and a search was made of the local area utilising a police helicopter.”
The search took officers to Lowerhouses, where a 19-year-old man was arrested.
The spokesperson continued: “A 19-year-old man, from Huddersfield, was arrested in Longley Road in connection with this incident and remains in custody at this time.”
There is no mention of the second person, however police said enquiries were ongoing.
A motorcycle was later found abandoned in woodland off Kidroyd Lane, close to Longley Road where the teen was arrested.
One resident described seeing two people on a motorbike speeding down Longley Road, before turning right into Kidroyd Lane.
"They were definitely looking for somebody.”
It then drove off-road into the woods at the end of the cul-de-sac and was abandoned around 15 metres along a path.
A cordon was erected around the motorcycle before police started a search of the surrounding woodland at around 1.30pm.
Crime scene investigators were also present at a property in Longley Road throughout Monday morning and into Monday afternoon.
Around a dozen armed officers accompanied the investigating officers at the property.
Residents reported that armed police were also stationed in Hey Lane, near Lowerhouses Junior and Infant School, from around 2am to 5am.
Karen Davidson, who lives close to the school, said: “There were two armed police by the island in front of the school. They had full balaclavas and helmets, you could only see their eyes. An unmarked Range Rover was flying up Hey Lane and Longley Road. They were definitely looking for somebody.”
It is possible to access the woodland area where the motorcycle was found via Hey Lane.
Karen added: “In those woods you could get from the bottom where the bike is to out by the school here and all the way up to Farnley Tyas. You can get all over if you know where you’re going.”
Police asked anyone who saw two individuals armed with weapons on a motorcycle in the Almondbury area of Huddersfield in the early hours of today (Monday) to call Kirklees District CID via 101, quoting crime reference 13180362147.
