Man arrested after stolen Mustang chase with child in car

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 18 Oct, 18:31 · Archive

Martin Stokes, 20, was arrested after driving a stolen Ford Mustang the wrong way down a dual carriageway with a 15-year-old child inside.

Martin Stokes, 20, was arrested following a police chase that began on the M4 westbound near Swindon on the evening of 8 July. When officers attempted to stop him driving a stolen Ford Mustang, he accelerated and continued driving dangerously. He drove around junction 15 roundabout the wrong way before joining the A419 on the southbound carriageway, driving against the flow of traffic for about 3.6 miles, and then exiting onto the A420.

The Daily Express reports that Stokes reached speeds of 140mph during the chase, with a 15-year-old child in the back of the car. Dash cam footage shows him driving through red lights and head-on with motorcyclists, cars and lorries. Police reported that he put 'hundreds' of people's lives at risk, including his own and the child's.

After being cornered by police cars and arrested near Swindon, Stokes threatened an officer. The Daily Express reports he told the officer, 'Let me up. Just you and me, one-on-one... I'm going to kill you.' Pc Ben Greening from Wiltshire Police's Roads Policing Unit described Stokes's driving as 'some of the most dangerous' he had seen.

How it is being reported

• Horror as man, 20, drives Mustang at 140mph with child in car during police chaseMenace, Martin Stokes, threatened to kill a police officer at the end of the terrifying chase.Daily Express · 18 Oct, 18:04
• Moment criminal drives wrong way down dual carriageway in stolen Ford Mustang in death-defying chase before threatening to murder police who stopped himMartin Stokes, 20, threatened to murder officers at the scene following his eventual arrest when they discovered a 15-year-old child was in the back of the car.Daily Mail · 18 Oct, 17:39

In this story: Martin Stokes · Wiltshire Police · Avon and Somerset Police · Swindon · M4 · A419

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