A POLICE pursuit ended with a vehicle mounting a grassy knoll and “flying through the air”, police said.

The white van was followed by police onto Hartlepool’s Oakesway Industrial Estate and was eventually abandoned by its driver and passenger.

Describing the incident, on Saturday night, Cleveland and Durham Road Policing Unit wrote on Twitter: “The driver took serious measures to avoid capture, using a grassy knoll as a ramp.

“This caused the van to quite literally fly through the air before gravity reminded the driver where vehicles are meant to be.”

After they abandoned the damaged vehicle, the two men ran off, followed by police officers, but were lost in a nearby housing estate.

Police tweeted a picture of a sniffer dog, Gunner, stood by the van and said drug use had been detected on board.

Enquiries are continuing.