Police officers injured after suspected thief drove wrong way on M1

The driver was chased by officers investigating the theft of a caravan from Hackenthorpe on Monday night.

A silver Peugeot 406 was spotted towing a caravan along the A57 towards the M1 at junction 31 at Aston.

Police said the car stopped and unhitched the caravan before attempting to speed off.

The car then drove the wrong way on the M1 motorway — heading northbound on the southbound carriageway.

Police chased the car and forced it off the road, causing it to spin and roll down a bank.

A South Yorkshire spokesman said: “Faced with the threat to lives of innocent members of the public on the motorway the driver of the police vehicle had to make a split second decision and to protect them he rammed the Peugeot, causing it to spin and then roll down the banking to a stop.

“Fortunately, no-one was seriously injured or killed.”

One arrest was made, two police officers were injured and a police car was damaged in the incident, the spokesman added.