A brazen wedding crasher helped himself to a bride and groom’s car then smashed up the vehicle as he drove away from the scene.Newlyweds Melanie Ashton and Matthew Hocking discovered their car had been stolen from outside their wedding venue as they tried to leave for their honeymoon in the early hours of Sunday morning.The couple had said goodbye to their wedding guests at Granaway Guest House on Longford Road in Warwick, but were delayed from heading to the yacht where they were spending their wedding night. The police were called to the scene and some of the 200 wedding guests then rallied around to help officers track down the thief.The theft of the green and silver jeep took place at about 1.30am, shortly after father-of-the bride Michael Ashton had put the couple’s overnight bags in the car. Police officers, who had been paid by the family to direct vehicles to a nearby parking area, had also left the scene just hours earlier.It is understood that a taxi driver who was transporting wedding guests to their cars spotted a man acting suspiciously and other guests were able to identify the alleged culprit.Police later arrested a 21-year-old man on suspicion of taking a vehicle without its owner’s consent at a house in Pembroke and The Royal Gazette understands officers found car keys in his pocket. The man has since been released on bail.The badly damaged car was found abandoned in the Parsons Lane area of Devonshire, near Watlington Waterworks, after it had been involved in an accident. The newlyweds spent several hours being interviewed by the police and didn’t get to the yacht until about 4.30am on Sunday. Guests told The Royal Gazette that “no one could believe what happened” after “such a beautiful wedding”.The theft came after guests had talked about how the couple were lucky to dodge Hurricane Ophelia, which passed to the east of Bermuda on Saturday but caused no damage.Mr Ashton and wife Carol have run the guest house, where their daughter’s wedding ceremony and reception took place, since 1978. Mr Ashton told The Royal Gazette last night that he did not want to comment.A police spokesman confirmed the incident, and added: “The vehicle was later recovered by police abandoned on Parsons Lane in Devonshire. A 21 year old Pembroke man was arrested in connection with this incident and subsequently released on police bail pending further inquiries”.