Five men arrested after lorry full of stolen spirits ‘rammed’ police car on M42

Five men have been arrested following the incident on the M42

The heavy goods vehicle, which was on cloned plates, failed to stop for Central Motorway Police officers when travelling on the northbound carriageway at around 10am today.

A road closure was put in place, with police deploying a tyre-bursting stinger device just before Junction 7 (for the M6), which left the front tyres of the vehicle deflated.

It carried on travelling until a further stinger was deployed by police just before Junction 9 (at Curdworth), but the lorry exited the motorway before driving the wrong way down the southbound exit slip road.

West Midlands Police said it then rammed a police vehicle and hit several other cars, leaving an officer with suspected broken ribs, before coming to a stop, blocking a slip road.

The driver then made off on foot along the motorway but was detained with the help of a police officer.

Police then detained a further four men in the truck, including one passenger and three in the rear, where 200 crates of stolen spirits were also discovered.

One of the men required hospital treatment for injuries sustained when the vehicle came to a stop.

Five men, aged between 22 and 40, have been arrested on suspicion of vehicle theft and burglary.

They remain in police custody to be questioned in due course.

The lorry has been seized for forensic examination and the motorway has since reopened.