THREE teenagers were arrested after a dramatic police chase through York came to a shuddering halt at one of the city’s busiest roundabouts.

A white Ford Transit van led police on a 15-minute chase, before officers finally managed to force it off the road at the Grimston Bar roundabout.

A motorbike and pedal bike, both thought to have been stolen, were thrown from the van as the drama unfolded.

The youngsters led police from the city centre, through residential suburbs, and onwards out of the city.

The whole incident was captured by TV crews who coincidentally were filming for a TV documentary on policing.

The drama began when officers spotted the van going through a red light on the wrong side of the road on Foss Islands Road at about 1.45pm yesterday.

They followed the van through Heworth, then towards Huntington and the outer ring road, and on to the A64 towards Stockton-on-the-Forest, where a child’s bike was hurled from the back of the van and an off-road motorbike was dumped at the edge of the village, near Dean’s Garden Centre. Both bikes are believed to have been stolen.

The van then continued on minor roads to Warthill and Holtby, and then back towards York on the A166. It was finally forced off the road by the police teams at 2pm at Grimston Bar, where the three arrests were made.

Police said that from the A64 at Hopgrove, officers tailed the van to Warthill, on to the A166 towards York, across the roundabout – again on the wrong side of the road – towards Osbaldwick.

Officers had chased the vehicle along Foss Islands Road, Oakland Avenue, Hempland Lane and Woodlands Grove in Heworth, New Lane in Huntington, and then the A1237 and the A64 at Hopgrove.

The three youngsters, all aged 17 and all from the York area, were arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving. A spokesman for North Yorkshire Police said all the males remained in police custody as inquiries continue.

• Meanwhile a car fire caused rush-hour delays on a slip road at Grimston Bar roundabout.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service advised motorists to avoid the eastbound exit to the A1079 at the Grimston Bar roundabout, late yesterday afternoon, as emergency crews from York and Huntington used hoses and breathing apparatus to put out the fire, which happened shortly before 4.45pm.