POLICE arrested a driver following a 'dangerous' pursuit through red lights

The suspect from Swindon failed to stop when requested to by the police earlier today and is currently in custody at Gablecross police station.

The 50-year-old man, who failed to appear at Swindon Magistrates court on April 17 for a hearing, has been arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving and failing to stop when requested by Police.

At around 4:45 am, officers located the vehicle at The Orbital Retail park and tried to speak to the driver before he drove off onto Thames down Road.

Police gave chase through West Swindon, out to Hook, down to Royal Wootton Bassett and Broad Hinton, back up towards Swindon before finally coming to a stop in Mill Lane, in West Leaze.

During the half an hour pursuit officers used a number of tactics to stop him safely.

Two officers sustained minor cuts to their hands and arms from broken car windows.

Inspector Andy Bridge, from Swindon North Community Policing Team said: “This was a challenging operation for police, mainly due to the length of time the pursuit went on for and the fact that the driver continued to evade officers.

“During the pursuit the vehicle was driven through red lights, was dangerously overtaking other cars and lorries, and could very easily have been involved in a collision.

“It is a testament to the professionalism of the police officers and our colleagues managing the pursuit in our Control Room that nobody was seriously injured, and the vehicle was eventually stopped safely.”