Thieves stole a £20,000 motorhome from Clayton-le-Moors before crashing it just hours later.
The Ford Transit motorhome went missing from Freshfield Avenue when witnesses saw it being towed by a 4x4 vehicle.
Sgt Ian Corbett said it was later found abandoned on the M6 in Cheshire and appeared to have been in an accident.
Police were linking the theft with an attempted motorhome break-in on Oakfield Avenue on the same night.
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