The chase took place in Selly Oak from around midnight on Sunday 8th March until around 1am on Monday morning.

West Midlands Police told Redbrick: ‘We arrested a man in Tiverton Road, Selly Oak, just after midnight today (9 March) after officers on patrol spotted a suspected stolen vehicle.

‘Following a pursuit, and with support from armed police and the force helicopter, the car was brought to a stop. A taser was used to help arrest one man.

‘The car had hit another vehicle but the driver and passenger of that vehicle were unhurt.

‘A man, aged 44, was arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving and theft of a motor vehicle. He remains in police custody this morning.

‘A second man fled the scene in the direction of Bristol Road.’

Last night, students described armed police patrolling the area and helicopters were spotted overhead. At least five unmarked police cars were also reportedly on the scene.

A current UoB student told Redbrick that he saw a car speed up Hubert followed by five armed police cars at exactly 12.05am on Monday morning and, two minutes after, that he saw them come back followed by two armed police officers.

One eyewitness, who asked to Redbrick remain anonymous, said they thought there were four people in one of the cars involved, two male and two females.

Students reported damage to their cars during the incident, with one student’s car being hit and another saying that she had her wing mirror smashed.

News of the police chase was instantly spread as students posted pictures and videos on the Facebook group ‘Fab N’ Fresh.’

Students posted about their gardens being searched and some students said that they were advised to stay inside by police.

Residents on Tiverton Road saw the chase, with one student saying that she saw ‘literally five or so police cars outside my house on Tiv, a helicopter overhead and two properly smashed-up cars.’

Beth, a current student at UoB, told Redbrick: ‘my housemate came into the kitchen saying he couldn’t work because of the sirens so we crowded into one of the front bedrooms to have a look.

‘It was just such an adrenaline rush, nobody was scared or anything, we just wanted to know what was going on. If anything it was really funny to see all of the students gathering together, nobody knew each other but there was a sort of community feel about the whole situation.’

A student who lives near the top of Hubert Road, near Raddlebarn Road, said that the noise from the chase was very loud and that he was intrigued by what was going on. Other students have felt similarly about this with many commenting on it on Fab N’ Fresh.

Police are still searching for the escaped man. Anyone with information can contact the police though live chat at west-midlands.police.uk (8am – 12am), quoting log 3959 of 8 March, or call 101 at any time. They can also contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.