Driver on the run after midday police chase through Gainsborough ends in serious crash

The silver Subaru Impreza failed to stopped for police who had noticed the driver without a seat belt on Lea Road at around 12.30pm on Tuesday, June 30.

It prompted a short pursuit, in which the driver collided with three other cars before smashing through a fence near Aldi in Foxby Hill and crashing the vehicle into a ditch. The occupants then fled from the vehicle, apparently without any injury.

A spokesperson for the Lincolnshire Police armed response unit said: “Luckily for the driver his running skills were better than his driving.

“Plenty of clues left behind though. Apologies for local disruption.”

While other media outlets initially reported that there had been arrests in the case, in fact those involved in the crash remain at large.

Lincolnshire Police and Crime Commissioner Marc Jones tweeted: "Great to see the new BMW X5 vehicles being put to good use getting dangerous, irresponsible and criminal drivers off our roads. Very well done the armed response team."

However some residents questioned whether the police tactics were appropriate.

Nikki Dougan said: “It was the middle of the day, with kids on bikes and people walking their dog.

“Someone could have been seriously hurt. Surely it would have been risk assessed not a good idea to pursuit in the middle of the day in a 30mph zone.”

Anyone with information about the case should call 101, citing incident 156 of June 30.