A police officer was injured and two patrol cars were damaged after thieves stole a pick up truck and led police on a seven-mile chase around Kidderminster.

Children and parents enjoying a school fete at Cookley saw the commotion as police tried to stop the vehicle which eventually collided with an unmarked police car.

The drama started at 2pm yesterday when police received reports that a Ford Ranger pick-up towing a trailer was stolen from Trimpley Drive, Kidderminster.

Police followed the pick-up through Wolverley to Cookley where they tried to stop it from escaping in Lea Lane outside Sebright First School using their vehicles.

But the determined thieves rammed their way through and caused extensive damage to a marked police Vauxhall Astra and an unmarked police Vauxhall Corsa.

A parked Volkswagen Passat estate and a Ford Focus were also damaged as the pick-up tried to squeeze down the narrow lane. One police officer suffered a minor leg injury but did not require medical treatment. 

The two police vehicles were believed to have been written off. The pick-up continued through Wolverley to Kinver where the thieves abandoned the vehicle in the High Street car park and tried to run away. 

Police arrested two men on suspicion of theft.

Phil Carey, who lives in Lea Lane, heard the commotion outside his house. The 58-year-old retired council officer said: “It was a chaotic scene. It looked like the police had tried to block the pick up off but it just shunted its way through.”

Trader Rob Cooper, of Just Kitchens in the High Street, said: “The vehicle came into the car park at top speed. Someone would have been killed if they had been in the way.”