Northamptonshire's crack police squad halt fleeing suspects with a 'stinger' on M1

A dramatic high-speed police chase ended on the M1 near Northampton in the early hours of Wednesday morning (May 20).

Parts of the carriageway was closed for around three hours, causing tailbacks of up to six miles, as officers from two counties tracked down five villains believed to be heading for London.

Police from Nottinghamshire called in Northamptonshire's crack Armed Response Vehicle units to help halt the 60-mile hunt for the vehicles near to junction 15 at around 4.30am.

Local officers were alerted to the getaway vehicles heading their way and intercepted both using a 'stinger'. Five men who were believed to have fled a burglary at a cannabis farm in Nottingham were detained.

A spokesman for Northamptonshre Police said: "Following the burglary in Nottinghmshire, a Vauxhall and an Audi believed to be involved in the incident were reported to be heading southbound on the M1 in the Northamptonshire area.

"We stopped them both in quick succession safely using TPAC tactics. Four males in one car and one in the other vehicle were all arrested in connection with the burglary.

"Both sides of the M1 experienced delays while we dealt with this incident."

A number of arrests were also made in Nottingham and the men, all aged between, 18 and 32, remain in custody for questioning.

Detective Inspector Rachael North, from the Notts force said: “Our officers reacted incredibly quickly and we were then able to get the support from our colleagues in Northamptonshire to intercept the cars thought to be linked to incident."

'Stingers' are designed to puncture one or more tyres of an oncoming vehicle when they are thrown into its path by an officer from the side of the road, who then quickly retracts it before a following police car passes by.

Northamptonshire Police increased the number of vehicles equipped with 'stingers' from six to 15 last October

They are designed to gradually deflate tyres making it significantly more difficult for a motorist evading police to continue driving.

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