TWO men were last night being questioned by detectives after a gun burglary was followed by a high-speed car chase along the A12.

TWO men were last night being questioned by detectives after a gun burglary was followed by a high-speed car chase along the A12.

The men had burst into a house in Clacton armed with a gun just after 2.40pm yesterday leaving a woman in her 40s in a state of shock.

It is not thought anything was stolen during the incident in Sillet Close and the men then headed off at high speeds towards Colchester.

Essex Police’s helicopter was scrambled and tracked the men from the air as they headed through Colchester and out on the A12.

Witnesses described police searching hedgerows in the area where the car had travelled and two men were arrested at 3.45pm in the area between Rivenhall and Hatfield Peverel on the A12.

Mother-of-two Anna Davidson, of Walton-on-the-Naze, witnessed some of the drama.

She said: “We were driving up Cowdray Avenue towards Ipswich Road when we noticed two police cars had stopped by the side of the road on the opposite side.

“They were near the railway bridge and one was parked facing the wrong way so we realised it must be an emergency.

“There were six or seven officers searching in the hedges by the roadside, one of them was wearing forensic gloves.

“We didn’t know if they were looking for a person or maybe a weapon.

“At the same time a police van went past towards Leisure World with its lights and sirens on, although I don’t know if that was connected to the search.”

The two – one in his 30s and the other in his 40s – were last night being questioned by detectives on suspicion of aggravated burglary.

An Essex Police spokeswoman said the householder had not been injured but was shocked by the incident and was talking to officers about what happened.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact Essex Police on 0300 3334444.