A student whose rucksack of university work was stolen has thanked police after they recovered the bag and made an arrest within a day.
Francis McElhatton was ice-skating at Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham city centre when the rucksack was snatched from the locker area.
It contained her house keys, bank cards, a £700 iPad and a notepad with much of her university notes.
The 23-year-old reported the theft to the police and was amazed when officers reunited her with the bag and all of its contents the very next day.
Francis, a medicine student at the University of Nottingham, said: “It was sorted out really quickly. I went into the police station in the morning to provide a statement and a couple of hours later the police officers were bringing the bag round to my house.
“I was so happy and so relieved. I’ve got a uni assessment next week and so I was panicking when I realised my bag was missing as it had a lot of my notes inside.
“I’m surprised I got it all back, especially so quickly. I’m really grateful to the police.”
Francis realised the bag was missing at approximately 9pm on Tuesday (25 October) and reported the theft to the police.
CCTV footage at the Arena identified an unknown suspect, while further inquiries found a bank card inside the stolen bag had been used that night at a nearby shop.
Officers were then able to gather further information that led them to an address, where they found the stolen bag.
A 37-year-old man inside the property was arrested on suspicion of theft and fraud by false representation. He has since been released under investigation while further inquires are conducted.
PC Dean Lewis, one of the investigating officers, revealed a number of police teams had played a role in reuniting Francis with her rucksack.
He said: “This was a fast-paced investigation that involved the force’s Managed Incident Team (MIT), the city centre Operation Reacher team and response officers.
“By working together, a suspect was quickly identified, traced and arrested and the stolen property returned to the victim.
“We will always investigate every report of theft as we understand the impact it can have on individuals.
“Nobody has the right to take another person’s belongings and such conduct will not be tolerated in Nottinghamshire.”
