Armed officers search bushes after suspect flees following police chase

Officers from Hampshire Constabulary and the Metropolitan Police have been at the scene tonight, where a black Jeep Cherokee crashed into the front of a police car.

An unmarked BMW has also had its passenger door smashed in, in what witnesses are describing as a police chase.

Officers were then seen chasing the man who ran off from the crashed Jeep. Witnesses described the man hiding in the bushes. 

A stretch of the A339 was closed with officers guiding traffic around the roundabout.

The road was strewn with broken glass and the wingmirror of the unmarked BMW, which was facing the wrong way in the road.

The left passenger door was also battered after witnesses say it collided with the Jeep Cherokee, which was positioned just a few feet away, bumper to bumper with a marked police car from the Metropolitan police.

Both the Jeep and the police car’s bumpers were severely damaged, and the Jeep’s airbag had also deployed.

Armed police officers were seen combing bushes close to the scene for evidence while witnesses were interviewed for statements.

The road was blocked until around 10.30pm. 

The Gazette has contacted Hampshire Constabulary for comment however the force was unable to issue a statement. A spokesman said the 'incident was ongoing' and declined to comment further.

Officers from the London's Met Police were also at the scene. A spokesman for the Met confirmed the incident but did not give a statement. 

Officers at the scene were trying franticly to ease the chaos on the roads, with four lanes of traffic converging into one as cars navigated through the debris of the crash.

Drivers on the A339 headed towards the city centre had to funnel between the crashed BMW and Jeep Cherokee.

Police then cordoned off the section of the A339 that cuts through the roundabout, as officers navigated vehicles away from the scene and towards the city centre.

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