SMELLS coming from a van led to the arrest of two men in connection with a spate of crimes in Bolton.

Police stopped the blue Ford Transit in Halliwell on Saturday night and found a “huge” empty container in the boot.

Following reports the van was believed to be connected with fuel thefts in the town during March and April, and picking up the smell of fuel from the container, officers arrested two men.

The driver, aged 21, and passenger, aged 20, were arrested on suspicion of theft of fuel.

The 21-year-old was also arrested for driving without insurance and no driving licence. The uninsured vehicle was seized by police.

An officer from the road policing unit said: “The blue Transit had been reported to the police as being involved in a drive-off at a petrol station in Kearsley where around £125 worth of diesel was stolen on April 14.

“We were on patrol last night when it drove past us in Astley Street, Bolton. We went after it and it was stopped in Walley Street.

“There was a large plastic industrial container in the rear and a strong smell of fuel from within.

“The container, however was empty.

“When we researched the vehicle it was established that there may have been two further drive offs involving this van in Bolton in March.”

Tweeting about the arrests GMP traffic described the find, discovered at around 11.30pm, as “a huge container”.

According to research last year by fuel distributor Certas Energy, Greater Manchester had the highest number of commercial fuel thefts, with a total of 3,804 reported in 2015.

Out of 19,755 commercial fuel thefts which were recorded across the year, 3,804 took place in the region.

Kearsley ward councillor Derek Burrows welcomed any police action to crack down on fuel thefts in the area.

He said: “I am a cabinet member for community safety so it is important people who commit these crimes are caught and do not get away with it.

“I have heard of people just doing this by filling up their cars and taking off, but this sounds like something on a more industrial scale.

“People running petrol stations are trying to run a business.

“It is not good for business when these kind of thefts happen and the last thing we want is businesses closing down in our town.”