Tonight’s episode of Interceptors launches with a bang quite literally when a car being pursued by police crashes at high speed.
Four youths then starburst from the damaged vehicle and had to be chased on-foot.
The two officers had to make a split-second decision which way to go but managed to arrest all the suspects with the help of backup and one of the police dogs.
The firearms officers had been made aware of a vehicle suspected to be driving on false plates at around 3.10am on Friday 28 February.
As they made their way to the scene, they were informed over the radio that the vehicle had failed to stop for colleagues and had gone through a red light before turning on to the A38 then on to Sutton Road in Kirkby-in-Ashfield.
At this time, they were on Sutton Road so the suspected vehicle was driving straight towards them.
Minutes later they saw the car drive past them travelling at speed and estimated it to be travelling at more than 80mph in a 30mph zone but then lost control at a mini roundabout and collided with a van.
The suspect vehicle was then driven on with smoke and sparks flying out from the front of it. The nearside front wheel had completely buckled under the car rendering it useless and it was only able to travel 200m before coming to a halt in the middle of the road.
Four men jumped out of the vehicle and split in different directions but there was no getting away from the Interceptors crew after they were all arrested with the help of backup and one of the police dogs.
Superintendent Claire Rukas, head of Nottinghamshire’s operational support unit, said: “This incident really highlights the dangers of a high-speed pursuit and the lengths that some suspects go to in a bid to try and escape capture by police.
“But there really isn’t any point in trying. My teams are specially trained in a number of pursuit tactics and have additional resources at their fingertips.
“We also have the ability to use intelligence and technology like automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) so there really is nowhere to hide from us.
“It poses a massive threat to the safety of other road users and that is our primary concern when a vehicle is being driven so dangerously and mindlessly out of control.
“Thankfully, like in this instance, most of the time the most serious injuries are caused by a bite from one of our police dogs as they assist in tracking down the suspects.”
The final Interceptors episode of this season also features the arrest of a pair of drug dealing brothers who are caught red handed during an early morning drugs raid and it’s man versus machine when officers are faced with taking down a not so fast and furious digger thief attempting to make a three-mile-an-hour getaway and refusing to stop.
Catch all of the action tonight at 8pm on My5.
Season two of Police Interceptors, featuring Nottinghamshire Police, will be screened later this year.
