Romford man arrested following police chase on A127 and M25

The police pursuit happened during the early hours of Saturday (credit: Essex Police)

A man from Romford’s been arrested following a car chase in which police cars were damaged on the A127 and M25.

The pursuit, which reached up to 100mph speeds, happened during the early hours of Saturday, 22 April when a black Jaguar was spotted being driven erratically on the A127 towards Southend shortly after 4am.

It had collided with the central reservation before entering the city on Victoria Avenue.

The windows of a police car were smashed as officers initially tried to stop the vehicle.

Soon after, the vehicle was driven through a red light in Queensway and was close to colliding with pedestrians.

The Jaguar then drove at a police car after it’d been located in a car park off Coleman Street and continued to drive on the London-bound A127.

It then continued down the M25 at Brentwood and came off towards the town.

With the assistance of Metropolitan police officers, the force were able to remain close and bring the vehicle to a stop when it was safe to do so.

At that stage, the Jaguar was completely missing its front driver side tyre while the front passenger wheel had completely unattached.

No one was injured.

A 45-year-old man from Romford was arrested on suspicion of failing to stop, theft of a motor vehicle, dangerous driving and failing to provide a breath test.

Detective Superintendent Gary Biddle, of our operational policing command, said: “The overriding concern throughout this incident was the safety of the public – and indeed those inside the vehicle.

“Officers showed both tenacity and bravery throughout and I would also like to pass on my thanks to the Metropolitan Police Service for their assistance as the vehicle entered the M25.

“It was only through working really closely with them during what was a really dynamic situation that we were able to bring the incident to a safe conclusion.

“Thankfully, this incident ended without serious injury – but it could very easily have been different were it not to for the actions of our officers.”

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