A19 police chase: Man arrested following pursuit on wrong side of road in North Yorkshire as police vehicle damaged
A man has been arrested after a pursuit on the wrong side of the A19 between Thirsk and Northallerton, police said.
At around 5.20pm on Sunday May 17, the North Yorkshire Police Force Control Room received a report of a vehicle near Thirsk suspected to be a cloned car.
Shocking footage released by North Yorkshire Police shows the car being driven the wrong way down the A19.
Officers quickly located the black Vauxhall Insignia.
After an attempted box was unsuccessful, a pursuit was authorised.
During the pursuit, the vehicle was driven in an extremely dangerous manner, including travelling contraflow and on the wrong side of the A19 towards oncoming traffic.
The driver briefly returned to the correct side of the carriageway before attempting to drive contraflow again, police said.
In a social media update, North Yorkshire Police said: “This level of driving posed a serious risk to the public.
“Our officers are highly trained to dynamically assess risk in fast-moving situations, and every decision is made with public safety as the overriding priority. In order to protect road users, a trained Tactical Pursuit and Containment (TPAC) officer carried out tactical contact to safely bring the pursuit to an end.
“The driver then fled from the vehicle.
"After our Firearms officers jumped a fence and dashed across a cornfield, a man in his 20s was detained by officers. He was arrested on suspicion of a number of offences and taken to hospital for treatment. He has since been discharged and remains in police custody. A female passenger was also assessed at the scene as a precaution.”
The vehicle has since been confirmed as stolen from West Yorkshire.
The A19 was closed for several hours while recovery work was carried out.
Although a police vehicle was damaged during the incident, no members of the public were injured, and the officer driving the vehicle which made tactical contact was treated with minor injuries.
In the early hours of Tuesday morning (May 19), Christopher Nairns, 29, was charged with dangerous driving, failing to stop, driving whilst disqualified, driving without insurance, handling stolen goods, and failing to provide a specimen.
He has been remanded in custody and is due to appear before York Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday May 19.