A MAN and a woman have been arrested after police were forced to make a "tactical stop" of a car being driven the wrong way down the East Lancashire Road.

At around 9.10am today (Monday) officers suspected that a blue Nissan was displaying cloned registration plates.

A pursuit of the car was launched by officers from the Matrix Roads Policing Unit.

Police say the car failed to stop for officers and was then driven on the wrong side of the road on the East Lancashire Road from Haydock towards St Helens.

Due to the possibility of serious injury being caused to members of the public, officers carried out a "tactical stop" of the vehicle to bring it to a halt.

A man and woman were both arrested at the scene on suspicion of theft of a motor vehicle and aggravated unauthorised taking of a motor vehicle. The man was also arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving.

They have both been taken into police custody for questioning.

Police said there were no reported injuries from the incident.

A closure was in place on the East Lancs at Carr Mill, between Green Leach Lane and Carr Mill Road earlier today, which has since been lifted.

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Officers 'acted quickly and decisively'

Inspector Phil McManus from the Matrix Roads Policing Unit said: “Thankfully our officers were able to act quickly and decisively to bring the incident to a safe conclusion.

“This is an example of the difficult decisions police officers make daily, while risking their own safety, to keep the public safe.

“Two people are now in police custody and they will be questioned about the incident.”

If you have any information about this incident, you can call 101 or DM @MerPolCC, quoting log number 199 of 20th May.