Helicopter scrambled after car smashes into house following police chase

Durham Constabulary said an investigation is now under way and detectives are appealing for witnesses or anyone with information to come forward after a car crashed into a house in the early hours of Saturday, April 18.

At 2.20am on Saturday, police on patrol noticed a VW Golf driving erratically in the Chester-le-Street area.

Officers attempted to stop the car and following a short pursuit the vehicle crashed into a house in Grasmere Road.

The driver then fled from the scene on foot.

The police helicopter assisted ground officers and the man was located and arrested on suspicion of a number of offences.

Residents have reported hearing the police helicopter in the Chester-le-Street and Pelton Fell area in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Posting an update on the Chester-le-Street Police Facebook page on Saturday evening, a spokesman for Durham Constabulary said: “Throughout the course of the day police have been conducting a number of inquiries, and the arrested man has been assisting officers in custody.

“Police are appealing for any witnesses to come forward who may be able to assist with the investigation.

“If you are a witness, or have any information please contact us through the live chat on our website or call us on 101. Please quote incident reference DHM-18042020-0137 for the attention of DC 2326 Mal Ord.”

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news on this free-to-read site, I am asking you to also please purchase a copy of our newspaper.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspaper.

Thank you

How to subscribe to the print edition

It’s easy to subscribe to your local newspaper. We have arranged a special 20 per cent off subscription offer for people to take advantage of. Visit www.localsubsplus.co.uk, choose the newspaper title, the type of subscription and enter your details.