Man escapes on horse & cart

Animal welfare and a northern city's network of narrow alleys foiled the hi-tech power of modern policing when a wanted man escaped from a fleet of pursuit vehicles on a horse and cart. Four motorbikes, a patrol car, a video van, two cycling constables and finally the force helicopter failed to catch the suspect after a slow-motion chase through east Leeds.

A 34-year-old man, who has not been named but is wanted for serious assault, was spotted by a police cycle patrol. The suspect jumped on to a rag-and-bone cart with a friend. Local people in the Chapel Allerton area described "a bizarre procession" along a dual carriageway leading out of Leeds, with the horse and cart weaving around to frustrate its pursuers. West Yorkshire police said that officers had got as close as they could but were anxious not to frighten the horse.

The Steptoe-like scene ended in a side street, where the wanted man jumped off the cart and ran down a back alley. The other man was surrounded by officers after he reined in the horse. Officers are still trying to trace the suspect.