Two men arrested after police bring van to stop in west Belfast following pursuit

Two men have been arrested after a police pursuit in west Belfast.

It happened at around 7.25pm on Wednesday evening.

Police received a report of an attempted theft of a vehicle as well as items from cars at a business premises in the Blackwater Road area of Newtownabbey.

PSNI Inspector David McBride said: “Officers attempted to stop a white transit van, which had been acting suspiciously in the area, however the driver made off from police.

“Following a pursuit and in order to protect members of the public, trained officers made contact with the van, bringing it to a stop on the Stewartstown Road."

Two men, aged 30 and 36, have been arrested on a number of charges including suspicion of a number of related offences, including theft, dangerous driving, using a motor vehicle without insurance, driving while disqualified and aggravated vehicle taking in which a vehicle is driven dangerously.

As of Thursday morning, both men remain in custody.

Inspector McBride added: "Our investigation is underway and I would appeal to anyone who was on the Stewartstown Road during this time, and who witnessed anything or has dash-cam footage of this incident, to contact police."

UPDATE: The two men were later released on police bail pending further investigation.

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