Three men have been arrested after a number of high-value motorbikes were stolen from outside a pub on Tuesday night.

The owners of the bikes were left despairing after their vehicles were stolen from outside the Royal Hotel in Morecambe.

However, less than an hour later a van was stopped on the M6 with two of the bikes recovered and three people arrested.

Officers were initially called at around 11.45pm after receiving reports that three bikes had been taken from outside the Royal Hotel and within a short time officers were able to establish that they were being transported in a Vauxhall Vivaro down the M6.

A spokesperson for the police said: "One van was initially stopped on the motorway, but a quick search revealed it was not the right vehicle and it was sent on its way. A huge thanks goes to the driver for his patience and understanding

"A short time later the correct vehicle was stopped on the M58 close to junction one.

"Two bikes were recovered at the scene. Enquires are ongoing to locate the third one."

Three men were arrested at the scene.

Two of them – aged 23 and from Liverpool and 25, from Bootle – were arrested on suspicion of theft of a motor vehicle.

A 33-year-old man from Litherland was arrested on suspicion of theft from a vehicle.

All three remain in custody and enquiries are ongoing.

Sgt Peter Snook, of the Lancashire Police TacOps team, said: “We hope this sends a message that we take reports of this nature seriously and will do everything in our power to recover stolen property so it can be returned to its rightful owners.

“As always, we would urge anybody with information about vehicle crime to report it to us on 101, or report it online at doitonline.lancashire.police.uk.”