Motorist flees on foot after police pursuit

Police attempted to pull over a blue Ford Focus in The Avenue in Leigh on Wednesday night.

But the motorist drove off in the direction of Orchard Lane, with a police patrol car following shortly afterwards.

Officers alerted the force’s helicopter, which kept the Focus under observation as it made its way around the town and eventually onto Westleigh Lane.

A Greater Manchester Police spokesman said: “Police began to pursue the car to Coal Pit Lane where the driver left the vehicle, so officers continued the pursuit on foot.”

The man who fled is said to be white, aged 25 to 35, and at the time he was wearing a beige jacket, and shorts.

Residents say that the fleeing Focus narrowly avoided colliding with a number of vehicles.

One witness said: “They came over the grass at the front of our house and narrowly missed my car.”

Police are asking any witnesses, or anyone who knows anything about the motorist, to contact them, quoting log number 2636 of September 27. Alternatively people can contact Crimestoppers, in confidence, on 0800 555 111.

The incident is the latest in a string of police pursuits in the Leigh area.

Eight days ago a car collided with the outside wall of a house in Twist Lane, after colliding with nearby parked cars. And a teenage drug-driver was jailed at Bolton Crown Court for a five-mile chase, ending at the same location.