Police apprehended a 16-year-old boy after tracking down a ‘stolen’ dump truck in Middleton St George on Friday (May 2).
A statement from a Durham police said the boy “was arrested and later charged with criminal damage, driving without a licence, no insurance and two counts of aggravated vehicle taking.”
He has been taken into custody and will appear at Newton Aycliffe Magistrates’ Court on Monday, May 5.
Officers were called to Hurworth Moor, off Neasham Road, on the evening of April 27 after seven homes were left with gaping holes.
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It was reported that a man had driven a JCB into the unoccupied new builds, with footage circulating online of the damaged homes.
Earlier this week, a decision to demolish the affected properties loomed after Darlington Council said structural engineers were due to report back after assessing the damage.
The homes are council-built – with Cllr Matthew Roche, Darlington Borough Council’s cabinet member for health and housing, saying: “The Neasham Road site is part of our ambitious programme to build hundreds of much-needed social homes and it’s disappointing, to say the least, that this has happened.”
