Police from Lancashire carried out a 20-mile pursuit of a burglary suspect that ended in a dramatic swoop in Salford late last night.
Eyewitnesses reported a large police presence in convoy travelling through Agecroft on Agecroft Road at around 10.30pm on Thursday 28 July, following a white Mercedes Sprinter van moving at speed.
The driver was suspected of carrying out a robbery at a trade tools sales firm.
Officers picked up reports of the van in Chorley town centre, some 20 miles from Agecroft, shortly after 10pm last night.
Burlgary at Screwfix on the Highfield Industrial Estate in Chorley
Lancashire Police were called out to a break-in at Screwfix Chorley, on an industrial park in the middle of the town near Junction 8 of the M61.
Patrols spotted the suspect and began to follow the driver as he swung round onto the motorway heading south towards the M60.
He refused all attempts to get him to pull over and dodged police as they tried to flag him down.
What police say was “a low-speed pursuit” developed into a convoy as police followed the van into Greater Manchester Police territory.
After a chase lasting half an hour the driver pulled off the motorway towards Pendlebury and the A6044 Agecroft Road, to the popular residential area in the vicinity of Forest Bank Prison and Agecroft Cemetery.
There police patrols surrounded the vehicle, with officers setting up a last-resort Stinger spike strip to blow the van’s tyres and bring it to a stop.
In a statement Lancashire Police said: “At 10.05pm reports came in of offenders breaking into the Screwfix premises on the Highfield Industrial Estate in Chorley. Patrols responded and began to follow a Mercedes Sprinter van and followed it onto the M61 as it headed towards Manchester.
“The driver failed to respond to repeated attempts to get it to stop and a low-speed pursuit developed.
“The van eventually headed into the Greater Manchester Police force area.
“At 10.38pm the van was stung and one man was arrested.”
More details are expected in a full statement from the force later today while enquiries continue.
Anyone with any information is asked to contact Lancashire Police on 101.
