TWO traffic officers cheated death when their car overturned while answering a call to pursue a stolen vehicle - carrying two schoolchildren - as it sped down the A1M at 130mph.

PC Michael Austin, 33, and PC Chris Fuller, 27, of Durham Police, were on their way to the motorway when their patrol car, driven by PC Austin, swerved to avoid a council gritting wagon and hit the central reservation before rolling several times.

Two teenagers - aged 13 and 15 - and a 24-year-old man, were in the stolen car.

The crash happened on the A689 as the police car approached junction 60 of the A1M from Rushyford.

A police spokesman said that, thanks to the design of the Volvo 850 estate, the two officers were able to walk away from the crash with only minor injuries.

The spokesman said: "Fortunately, the officers were not seriously hurt, but it does demonstrate, yet again, the risks the police sometimes have to take when responding to incidents of this nature."

Last night, it emerged that PC Austin was involved in another serious crash that claimed the lives of two toddlers.

On Boxing Day 1999, the police officer was driving Neza Price, two, and sister Claudette, four, along the A68 near Witton-le-Wear when the driver of a Renault people-carrier skidded on ice and crashed into the police vehicle.

The children, who were travelling with Neza's twin, Sid, and mother Shelleen, of Coundon Grange, died of head injuries. PC Austin was not to blame for the accident.

In yesterday's incident, officers from two police forces were instrumental in catching the suspects of the stolen car after the 15-minute police pursuit.

The drama unfolded at 4.45am when police received a call from a man to report that his Rover 820 car had been stolen from Neville Road, Darlington.

The vehicle was spotted heading up the town's West Auckland Road in the direction of A1M.

The car joined junction 58 of the motorway and travelled north at speeds of up to 130mph.

The suspects were eventually stopped at Blind Lane, Chester-le-Street, when Northumbria Police officers deployed a stinger - a device made of steel spikes - across the road to tear the Rover's tyres to pieces.

The three occupants, all from Hendon, in Sunderland, were arrested and are in custody at Darlington.