Bizarre police chase ends with suspected fuel thieves crashing into petrol station
This was the scene outside a Black Country petrol station after suspected fuel thieves ploughed a people carrier into a wall at the end of a dramatic police chase.
The Vauxhall Zafira ended up crumpled on the pavement outside the Morrisons garage in Wednesbury just minutes after police had tried to stop the vehicle.
Pictures taken at the scene show a bumper left lying on parkland next to the petrol station, behind tyre tracks leading down the grassy hill to the junction of Meeting Street and Trouse Lane where the Zafira came to rest.
Police had been pursuing the car at around 5pm on Monday before it smashed into barriers at the bottom of the hill.
A 27-year-old man and a 31-year-old woman were both arrested on suspicion of vehicle theft and fuel theft, while nine firefighters were called to help the police officers and paramedics already on the scene.
A crowd of curious onlookers gathered after the pair were treated for their injuries at the scene of the crash, with the man taken to Walsall Manor Hospital for further checks.
A spokesman for the West Midlands Fire Service said: "Police and the ambulance service were already in attendance. Crews from Bilston and Tipton attended with nine firefighters in total heading down to the scene.
"The vehicle had collided with road furniture and the car ended up resting on its four wheels on the pavement.
"One man was taken to Walsall Manor Hospital for further checks and the vehicle was made safe by the fire service who left the scene at 5.40pm."
West Midlands Police confirmed that the pair were being held in custody on Tuesday while they were questioned by detectives.
