A 16-YEAR-OLD boy was arrested after a six-mile police chase across Southend.

The teenager, from Rochford, is being held on suspicion of vehicle theft. Police had pursued a black Range Rover, with two people inside. They are now searching for a further suspect.

Essex Police confirmed that the vehicle had been stolen from Roots Hall Drive, Southend, before being abandoned in a field off Mucking Hall Road, Barling, after the six mile pursuit of the Range Rover.

Witnesses describe seeing the vehicle driving “at speed” during the morning rush hour and the school run.

Adam Jones, 51, a Barling resident, who cycled past the ongoing incident, described how the drama unfolded. He said: “The police helicopter had been circling for an hour. I originally thought it was flying to the airfield but it went around for a while.

“When I mentioned the incident to passers-by in Leigh, they remembered seeing the car speeding through town.

“The car had been beached in a ploughed field at the end of my road. It was being guarded by an officer with his van.

“There were plain clothed police officers swarming the area too.

“They looked quite normal until there were three or four strolling quickly around the same area.

“People were saying that there were two people in the car.”

A spokesman from Essex Police, said they were called at about 8.45am yesterday with reports of a vehicle being stolen in Roots Hall Drive, Southend.

The spokesman said: “We attended the scene and we pursued it before the occupants abandoned the vehicle in the Barling area.

“With the assistance of the police helicopter, we arrested a 16-year-old from Rochford in Mucking Hall Road on suspicion of a vehicle.

“We are continuing to make enquiries to locate a second person seen in the vehicle.”