Police helicopter and dogs catch car thieves

Officers became aware a Vauxhall Astra that had been reported as stolen was being driven in the Wigan Road area at around 4pm.

When the car was stopped, the two men inside the car went on the run.

A spokesman for Lancashire Police said: “For some reason they (the suspects) didn’t want to speak to our officers and abandoned their vehicle on the embankment on Leyland Way and ran off across local fields.

“But with a number of officers, a dog unit and the helicopter to assist they were not able to hide from us for too long.”

Both men were arrested and the car was recovered for its owner.