ASSEMBLY Member Kirsty Williams turned crime fighter after interrupting an attempted quad bike theft.

The Welsh Liberal Democrat leader and her husband Richard Rees had set off from their home at Cradoc near Brecon on Saturday evening when they saw two people attempting to load a quad bike into the back of a van.

The Brecon and Radnorshire AM said she and her husband, a farmer, had left home just after 5pm when they saw the quad being loaded into the van on the road between Cradoc and Aberyscir.

"My husband literally slammed the brakes on and said ’what are they doing with that quad bike?’ He reversed back up the road and a man and a woman were in the process of putting the quad into the back of a van," said Ms Williams.

"I challenged them. I said ’excuse me, is there a problem, can I help?’ He swore at me and they jumped in the van and drove off with the doors still open, flapping in the wind.

"The quad bike was left behind with the pieces of wood they had been using to lead it into the van."

Ms Williams said she and her husband then rang 999 and she made a statement to police on Sunday morning.

Dyfed-Powys Police officers later attempted to stop a van on the A40, which failed to stop.

Police units with dogs searched the Sennybridge and Defynnog area on Saturday until around 10pm.

Officers asked members of the public to be on the lookout for a man and a woman.

PCSO Jason Hawkins, of Brecon Police Station, said officers weren’t authorised by their control room to pursue the van on safety grounds.

He said officers focused their search on the Sennybridge area following a call from another member of the public but weather conditions didn’t allow a helicopter to be used.

Politician Ms Williams said she she had been shocked by the brazen attempt to steal a quad bike: "I know there is an issue with rural crime but I was shocked to come across people in the act in broad daylight.

"Quad bikes are an important piece of kit and an expensive piece of kit for farmers."

* A 34-year-old woman from the Blackwood area was arrested on suspicion of attempt theft and released on bail pending further police enquiries.