Stingers stop speeding car that reached 135mph during high speed police chase

Video (click to play above) shows the moments when sparks began to fly during a high speed pursuit - as a suspected stolen car reached 135mph.

Police on land and in the air combined to bring a speeding car to a halt and arrest three suspects, following a lengthy chase. Officers deployed stingers on two occasions to try and slow the vehicle – which was clocked going over 135mph at one stage. Sparks can be seen coming from the wheels during the footage above.

Cloned plates

When police flagged a possible stolen car with cloned plates, officers turned on their blue lights, while the driver put their foot down on the accelerator. The car was driven dangerously along the A-road for the next few minutes after that, with gas cannisters thrown from the vehicle at the police cars following behind.

A mixture of policing teams – aided by the National Police Air Service (NPAS) flying overhead – worked together to track the car as it continued at speed along the A46 from Radcliffe-on-Trent to Newark. After driving the wrong way around Farndon roundabout, the car’s tyres were stung by waiting officers to slow it down before it could make its way into the centre of town.

They made a run for it

With sparks flying everywhere and the wheels on the rims, the still-moving vehicle was stung a second time, and crashed into a wall in Tolney Lane, shortly afterwards.  While one of the car’s occupants was immediately detained, the rest jumped out and made a run for it, with officers giving chase on foot – supported by the dog team and NPAS in the air.

Knife recovered

Following a lengthy chase in the dark over fields and through rivers, two other suspects were also stopped and brought under arrest, with a knife recovered from one of them.

A 16-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving, failing to stop, theft of a vehicle, possessing a knife in public, and driving without insurance or a licence. Police also arrested two boys, aged 14 and 17, on suspicion of dangerous driving. The 17-year-old was additionally arrested on suspicion of theft of a vehicle and possessing Class B drugs.

Officers from the force’s Operational Support teams worked with response colleagues, the Newark neighbourhood policing team and NPAS to help secure the arrests.

Chief Inspector Clive Collings, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “This was a fantastic example of our different policing teams working together to achieve a positive result – in this case arresting three people who showed a blatant disregard for public safety. With NPAS providing support from above, our officers on the ground did an excellent job of tracking this vehicle from a safe distance, despite it exceeding 135mph at one point.

“That nobody was hurt during this pursuit was down to a mixture of good fortune and the professionalism of the officers involved in this incident, including those who safely deployed stingers at the critical moments. Even after the vehicle came to a stop, the teamwork required to pursue and ultimately detain all three suspects was exceptional.”