Photos: Dorset Police
A police pursuit through east Dorset ended with the arrest of a man in Ferndown after a cloned BMW failed to stop for officers on the A35.
Officers from the Tactical Firearms Unit first encountered the vehicle near Tolpuddle. When the driver did not stop, a pursuit began along the A31, with assistance from the Dorset Roads Policing Team.
An attempt to stop the vehicle using a stinger near Canford Bottom was unsuccessful. Police have confirmed that a member of the public’s car was affected by the stinger and will be provided with new tyres.
The BMW later left the A31 and entered the Ameysford Road area before turning into Autumn Close, a residential cul-de-sac. Officers used tactical contact to stop the vehicle after it attempted to evade them again.
Police confirmed that public safety was the priority and that deliberate damage to a police vehicle was proportionate in bringing the incident to a safe end.
No officers were injured during the pursuit. The driver, who sustained only minor abrasions, was arrested for several serious driving offences and taken into custody.
Cloned vehicles often use false plates to avoid detection from ANPR systems.
12pm Update: A 27-year-old man from Chard in Somerset has been charged with dangerous driving, failing to stop when required by police, using a motor vehicle without valid insurance, driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence and fraudulently using a registration mark or document. He is due to appear at Poole Magistrates’ Court on Monday 23 June 2025.