Man arrested and £100,000 worth of suspected drugs recovered following high-speed police chase on M1 in Harrogate district

At 4.30am this morning (February 8), officers in North Yorkshire were alerted to a vehicle that had been seen acting suspiciously and was travelling into the county from Cleveland.

Officers from the Specialist Operations team were deployed to the A1(M) and sighted the vehicle at Junction 45, Boston Spa.

The vehicle was seen driving dangerously and continued on the M1 towards Leeds.

The West Yorkshire Police Specialist Operations Unit joined North Yorkshire Police in pursuit and followed the vehicle at high speeds along the motorway.

Officers were forced to make tactical contact with the vehicle as it was about to drive on the wrong side of the road.

It was eventually brought to a halt at Junction 38 of the M1 at Bretton.

A search of the vehicle found a large quantity of what was suspected as cannabis with an estimated street value of £100,000.

The driver, a man in his 20s, was arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving, failing to stop for police, drink driving and possession of a Class B-drug.

He currently remains in custody.

Inspector Clive Turner, from North Yorkshire Police’s Roads Policing Group, said: “This incident shows that we are out there 24/7 policing the road network and disrupting criminal activity.

"Criminals may not stop when they reach a county border, and neither does our response.

“Suspects may try to evade us, but we will use every tool and tactic at our disposal to remove illegal drugs from our communities.”