SUSPECTED criminals leaped out of a moving car in the middle of a dramatic police chase through Stockton.

Cleveland and Durham’s Roads Policing Unit said officers tried to stop a VW Golf in the Bowesfield area in the early hours of yesterday morning, Monday.

Police chased the car around the Oxbridge area, where the occupants jumped out as it was still moving. The Golf then crashed into a nearby parked vehicle.

Two of the suspects escaped into a nearby building site.

Police arrested a third suspect, a woman, at the scene.

A police dog found a pair of trainers thought to be linked to one of the escaped suspects, and inquiries are ongoing to trace those involved.