police in Gloucester recovered £19,000 of heroin and arrested two people for drugs offences after a chase across Gloucester last night.

Just after 6.30pm yesterday, July 14, Gloucester City Safer Community Team (SCT) and Priority Policing Team (PPT) officers were visiting a man in Swan Court, Westgate Street who had been linked to a bike theft in the city, when he jumped out of the property and ran off.

Police gave chase on foot and at one point an officer commandeered a bike from a member of the public to catch up with the suspect.

The pursuit ended at a petrol station on Westgate Street where the man was apprehended.

A woman then came forward to report that she had seen him throw an item away, leading to police recovering a substantial quantity of heroin from a bin.

The address the man ran from was searched and more drugs were found.

In total, a quarter of a kilogram of heroin, with a street value of £19,000, was recovered.

A 27-year-old man from Tuffley and a 26-year-old man from was Gloucester were both arrested on suspicion of possession of class A drugs with intent to supply in connection to the case and remanded in custody. They will be appearing in Cheltenham Magistrate’s Court today, July 15.

Detective Sergeant Rob Harding, of Gloucester PPT, said: “This was good police work by our officers, backed up by the assistance of the public.

“My team were working with the SCT to crack down on the recent spate of bike thefts in the city but adapted quickly to the situation that then confronted them.

“As well as thanking the officers involved I’d like to pay tribute to both the woman who reported the package going into the bin and the person who gave up their bike so we could catch this person.

“Having the confidence and support of the local community is vital in the work we do and I can reassure people we’ll continue to tackle crime in the city and make it a safer place to live.”