Watch: Armed police ram fugitive knifeman's car after 70mph chase to avert disaster on the M5

Dramatic video shows the moment armed police rammed a knifeman to prevent him driving the wrong way onto the M5 after threatening a woman.

West Midlands Police said Joshua Jones was being hunted by police on the morning of May 24 after making threats to a woman, whom he knew, in the Halesowen area earlier in the day while armed with the Rambo-style knife.

The firearms officers were deployed to search for him as he was armed, and the white Ford Puma car he was in was spotted off Oldbury Ringway.

It made off from officers, hitting 70mph in a 30mph zone towards Junction 2 of the M5, near Oldbury.

Footage from a National Police Air Service (NPAS) helicopter shows how it drove the wrong way around a roundabout and towards oncoming traffic on the slip road of the motorway.

Firearms officers rammed the vehicle to stop it from driving up the wrong side of the motorway, at around 10am.

Jones was then arrested, and the Rambo knife recovered from the passenger seat.

Chief Inspector Sinead Sweeney, head of the West Midlands Police firearms unit, said: “This was fantastic teamwork by our officers, working closely with NPAS colleagues, who used their skills and training to bring a dangerous offender to justice.

“The consequences of Jones driving the wrong way down the motorway could have been catastrophic.

“Incidents like this just go to show the range of work that firearms officers do, from arresting those involved in gun crime, to pursing criminals armed with other deadly weapons on the roads, to supporting our neighbourhood and investigation teams.”

On May 26, Jones, aged 23, of Fountain Lane, Oldbury, appeared at Wolverhampton Magistrates Court.

He admitted possession of a large Rambo knife, dangerous driving, aggravated vehicle taking, criminal damage to the woman’s property and using threatening language to her.

He was remanded in custody ahead of a hearing at Wolverhampton Crown Court.