Arrest after car driven wrong way down M4 near Swindon

Police had tried to bring the car to a stop using a stinger device

A man has been arrested after a car was driven the wrong way down a motorway as it was being pursued by police.

Officers had followed the vehicle from Berkshire into Wiltshire on the M4 at about 21:30 GMT on Thursday.

A stinger device was used to try to stop the car near J15 for Swindon, but its driver performed a U-turn and then headed the wrong way down the motorway.

The car was eventually brought to a stop after being boxed in by police vehicles, Wiltshire Police said.

A man, aged in his 50s and from Wokingham, has been arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving and failing to stop for police.

He was further arrested in connection with inquiries across a number of different forces including theft, fraud and common assault, the force said.

Officers from the force's roads policing unit and its Fortitude Unit - which targets serious offenders - were involved in the arrest after being alerted by Thames Valley Police.

Acting Inspector Will Ayres, of Wiltshire Police's roads policing unit, said: "[This] was an incredibly reckless piece of driving across dozens of miles of motorway.

"There can be no excuse for [such] actions or for failing to stop for police."

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