SECURITY guards tailed a JCB stolen from a building site in a dramatic low speed car chase while accomplices of the thief tried to run them off the road.
The £58,000 yellow JCB telehandler was taken at about 10.30pm on Tuesday and driven erratically through Farnworth until the police managed to box in the vehicle in Moses Gate half an hour later.
Ira Gibson, a private security guard, was patrolling Walkden town centre along with colleagues Greg Holmes and Mark Swaby when he spotted the construction vehicle.
The 21-year-old said: "They broke into the Total Fitness site and stole the digger, a large forklift.
"I was in the car and they came flying towards me and I spun the car around.
"We followed the digger all the way to Farnworth.
"I was driving, Greg was doing assessments and Mark was on the phone to the police. We had a nice little team going.
"We were driving at about 20mph. He clipped a load of kerbs, swapped lanes and outside the Farnworth Tesco he nearly took out a BMW."
The gates of the Caddick Construction building site — where Total Fitness in New Ellesmere Approach in Walkden is having a side extension built — had been forced open and the thief already had a correct key to start the engine before he hopped into the cab of the leased machine.
Mr Gibson said: "While we were following the JCB, a Ford Mondeo was trying to force us off the road.
"They were not liking our presence. I had to take evasive driving to keep up with the JCB.
"This Ford Mondeo was driving erratically, trying to prevent us following the JCB but it's not worked out for them.
"As soon as the police officers got behind the JCB, the Mondeo turned down a site street and shot off."
Mr Swaby was in contact with the police during the chase along Worsley Road, Albert Road and Egerton Street in Farnworth.
His running commentary helped officers position themselves to cut off and pull over the JCB at the junction of Manchester Road and Hall Lane in Moses Gate.
A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said: "We received a call at 10.45pm to reports a JCB was driving erratically.
"The driver, a man aged 50, was later arrested on suspicion of drink-driving."
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