A VAN driver was arrested on suspicion of attempting to murder a police officer after a 30-mile high-speed chase across the North-East.

In a pursuit which resembled something from a Hollywood movie, six police cars were damaged and a traffic officer narrowly escaped serious injury.

The drama began after a man was arrested by Durham Police on suspicion of burglary in the Seaham area yesterday morning.

A second man who was with him made off in a white van and headed south, down the A19, followed by police.

Cleveland police cars joined the pursuit as the van headed towards Middlesbrough.

A helicopter also joined the chase using a camera to film the speeding van and relaying details to the police convoy behind.

In a bid to bring the van to a halt, officers ordered the deployment of a Stinger - the tyre-bursting device which is laid across the road.

Unfortunately the plan went badly wrong when the van driver spotted the device.

At the last minute, the van veered onto the verge of the A19 - endangering a policeman who had deployed the Stinger.

Two of the Durham police cars were not able to take avoiding action in time. One police Volvo shredded all four tyres, and the other blew out its front tyres.

Debris from the road broke off the wing mirror of a police van, while a BMW suffered minor bodywork damage.

After evading the Stinger, the fleeing suspect then headed east along the A66 towards Middlesbrough before making a u-turn towards Darlington.

As the chase became increasingly desperate the van turned off on to a cycle track leading to Bowesfield Lane, on the edge of Stockton.

Eventually the driver turned into a caravan park where he was found hiding in a caravan but not before two more police vehicles were damaged.

Last night, police described the antics of the van driver as "suicidal".

Inspector Mick Bennett, of Cleveland Police, said: "It was very dangerous. The roads were quite busy.

"Fortunately, we had a helicopter, letting us know what was ahead. The driver of the offending vehicle did not know what was ahead, he was clearly intent on not stopping."