Police cause crash to stop stolen van driving wrong way on A64 near York

Police caused a deliberate crash to stop a stolen van being driven the wrong way along a major commuter route in rush hour.

The Peugeot Partner van failed to stop for police at the A19 Fulford Interchange near York at around 6.20pm on Tuesday.

Instead it joined the A64, travelling west along the eastbound side.

A North Yorkshire Police spokesperson said traffic was heavy at the time.

"Police officers were forced to take immediate action to bring the van to a stop, to prevent a potentially lethal collision with members of the public," they said.

An officer in a marked police car saw the van travelling directly towards him.

The spokesperson said: "Acting immediately, the police car made contact with the van to disable it and bring it to a stop. The van continued on for a short distance before the driver and passenger abandoned it in the road and ran off."

Other officers searched the area and found a 52-year-old man hiding under a bush. He was arrested on suspicion of driving while disqualified, drug driving, dangerous driving, failing to stop and theft of a motor vehicle.

A 40-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of theft of a motor vehicle. He had with him a young dog, which was taken to a vet.

The van had been stolen from the West Mercia area.

The officer involved was checked by paramedics, but remained on duty. The damaged police car was taken away to be repaired.

The incident caused long delays on the A64.