Police say stolen backhoe slammed into several vehicles in Dartmouth

Several downtown Dartmouth residents reported a possible hit and run to police after they were jarred from their sleep early Friday by loud collisions.

It turns out a stolen backhoe had plowed into cars parked along Pleasant Street near Prince Albert Road.

Const. John MacLeod said police found the backhoe abandoned not far from there.

"Our officers located multiple vehicles in that area that had been heavily damaged," said MacLeod. "Officers were able to locate an abandoned front-end loader in the area that was equipped with a snowplow."

MacLeod saidthe backhoe was stolen from the Dartmouth Sportsplexaround 2 a.m.

That's roughly two kilometres from where it was left.

Police are asking people who live between the Sportsplex and Pleasant Street to check their vehicles fordamage.

"At this point, we know where the vehicle was stolen from and we also know where these particular hit-and-run incidents occurred," said MacLeod.

"But there is a significant number of streets in between those two locations and that's why we're reaching out to the public in case they become aware of damage that may have been caused by this vehicle as well."