Low speed chase II

This plucky pensioner led police on a low-speed chase around Middlesbrough - and then gave officers the slip.

The lukewarm pursuit started after he caused traffic chaos by crawling down the fast lane of a busy dual carriageway.

Police asked the stubborn senior citizen to pull over. But he defiantly cranked his battery-powered mobility scooter up to its top speed - 8mph - and somehow managed to escape their attention.

Engineer, Ian Hardy, from Darlington said he couldn’t believe his eyes as he watched the chase unfold on the A1032 Newport Bridge Approach Road on Monday afternoon.

“The police tried to pull him up but he issued them with a lot of profanities.”

Then the determined OAP veered onto the Cannon Park roundabout where he gave red-faced officers the slip.

“They asked us, ‘scuse me - have you seen a bloke on an electric scooter?’,” added Ian, who was on a walk at the time.

“The two in the police car looked a bit sheepish to have lost a battery-powered scooter. I bet they’ll be the toast of the nick.”

A police van joined the pursuit and when cops eventually caught up with the pensioner, he was escorted to safety.