Man arrested following pursuit of a stolen vehicle from Prestwich

Overnight, officers from our Tactical Vehicle Intercept Unit (TVIU) arrested a man in his 20s after he led them on a pursuit which ended in West Yorkshire in a stole vehicle that was taken from Prestwich in Bury the night before.

At around 10.30pm, we spotted a black Seat Leon on suspected to be on false plates in Oldham while out on patrol and requested it to stop.

The driver of the Leon obliged and stopped for officers on Lees Road. However, following a quick conversation, the suspect made off, leading the officer through High Street and Oldham Road – heading towards the West Yorkshire border.

As officers pursued the vehicle, the driver showed complete disregard for public safety, speeding down a busy road at 80mph before shooting straight across a junction at 50mph.

The speeding did not stop there, as he reached staggering 110mph on Manchester Road.

The pursuit ended on the same said road when the driver’s speed would be his undoing – as he collided with a corner – and subsequently flipped the Leon, with it coming to a complete stop on its roof in Slaithwaite.

While calling for other emergency services, the suspect pulled himself from the vehicle – miraculously unharmed and attempted to make off – however, that was short-lived as he was arrested meters from the wrecked vehicle.

The driver was arrested on suspicion of burglary and dangerous driving, and remains in custody for questioning.

PS Bobby Nasim from TVIU said: "This suspect showed a complete disregard for the safety of everyone else on the road or the pedestrians on the pavement as he was speeding down High Street in Oldham. Despite initially stopping for officers, he chose to flee and at excessive speeds into West Yorkshire in a stolen car.

"His actions could very easily have resulted in serious injuries or worse, both for innocent members of the public and the responding officer. Thankfully, nobody was injured during this 15-minute pursuit.

"Those who think they can evade justice by driving dangerously should be under no illusion – our officers will continue catch those who think they can use our roads to enable their criminality.

"I would like to thank the officer involved in this incident for their professionalism throughout what was a fast-moving and potentially dangerous incident."