A NEIGHBOURHOOD WhatsApp group was contacted just minutes after being set up when a home was raided and car stolen.

Two teenagers, aged just 15 and 16, were arrested after members of the group contacted police and an hour long police chase began.

At about 10.45pm last night a home was broken into on May Avenue, Canvey, and a Fiat 500 stolen from the driveway.

The victim, a woman in her 50s, sent a message to the group and police were called.

Group founder Mr Mann said: “I shared the details and literally just 15 minutes after I set it up, a woman joins and tells us her car has been stolen from her drive.

“I have a friend who is a police officer and he was on duty, I let him know which car and he set about looking for it.”

A spokesman for Essex Police said: “Officers found the vehicle in Benfleet and, when it failed to stop for them, a pursuit was authorised.

“The car was then in collision with a tree in Warrior Square, Southend, just before 11.40pm.

“Officers were then guided to a block of flats, where they forced entry and made two arrests.

“A 16-year-old boy from Tilbury and a 15-year-old boy from Southend were both arrested on suspicion of burglary, driving under the influence of drugs and failing to stop when directed by police.

“They remain in custody for questioning.”

Anyone with information call Essex Police on 101.