TERRIFIED motorists were forced to take evasive action as a car being pursued by police did a U-turn and drove the wrong way along the A12.The dramatic police chase happened on the outskirts of Colchester at lunchtime yesterday on the London-bound dual carriageway.

By Juliette Maxam

TERRIFIED motorists were forced to take evasive action as a car being pursued by police did a U-turn and drove the wrong way along the A12.

The dramatic police chase happened on the outskirts of Colchester at lunchtime yesterday on the London-bound dual carriageway.

The incident started in Clacton, when a grey Rover 216 car activated an Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) camera.

Police in Clacton tried to pull over the car, but the driver refused to stop, said a force spokeswoman.

A police patrol car in Ardleigh later spotted the car driving on to the A12 from the A120 and started to chase it.

The Rover was being followed by the police car, which had its blue flashing lights and siren on, when the driver decided to turn around.

At about 1.50pm, the driver did a U-turn and started driving the wrong way down the London-bound carriageway, heading towards Ipswich.

An Essex Police spokeswoman said the police car did not pursue the car at this stage.

She said: “It is believed a number of vehicles were forced to take avoiding action to avoid a collision with the car.”

No-one was hurt in the incident, she added.

Sergeant Paul Whittingham, of Stanway road policing unit, said police had not followed the car from Clacton to Colchester, before the vehicle got to the A12.

Four people were later arrested in connection with the incident after the car eventually stopped and were last night being questioned by police.

The police spokeswoman added: “Road policing officers want to speak to any drivers who witnessed this incident, or saw the car prior to this on the A120.”

Anyone with information should contact Sgt Whittingham on 01206 762512.