Police want dashcam footage of a BMW and a Mercedes seen racing from Hoole Road onto the M56 on Monday 26 October. Three men were arrested and are on bail.

Police are asking for dashcam footage after two cars were reported racing out of Chester and along the M56 on Monday evening. A caller later reported the Mercedes on the hard shoulder with its boot open and a tyre missing, and two men were seen running from it into nearby woodland.

The details come from a Cheshire Constabulary appeal published on Friday.

What police say happened

The force gives this timeline for Monday 26 October:

  • About 4.50pm: officers were told of a failure to stop collision in the St Oswalds Way area of the city centre, involving a white BMW 3 Series.
  • 4.53pm: a second call reported the same BMW apparently in a pursuit with a black Mercedes along Hoole Road.
  • Over the next 15 minutes: several more callers reported the two cars at excess speed on the M56. They said the Mercedes still had its boot open and was missing a tyre.
  • About 5.08pm: a caller said both cars were parked on the hard shoulder of the M56 eastbound, close to junction 11. Two men had been seen leaving the Mercedes and running into a wooded area beside the carriageway.

The BMW had gone before officers arrived. Police say it was later found in Warrington.

Junction 11 of the M56 is at Preston Brook, east of Frodsham.

Arrests

The force says three men were arrested after the incident:

  • a 19-year-old man and a 62-year-old man, both from Chester, on suspicion of theft of a motor vehicle
  • a 35-year-old man from Stalybridge, on suspicion of dangerous driving

All three have been released on unconditional bail. Nobody has been charged.

What police are asking

PC Tyson Darlington, of the Roads and Crime Unit, said officers were still working to “fully establish the circumstances surrounding what has happened and who is involved”.

He asked anyone who saw either car leaving Chester and joining the M56 to come forward. He also asked drivers who were in the city centre, on St Oswalds Way, on Hoole Road or on the M56 that evening to check their dashcams.

What it means for you

If you drove through the city centre or along Hoole Road towards the M56 between about 4.45pm and 5.15pm on Monday 26 October, your dashcam may have caught one of the cars. Many dashcams record over old footage after a few days, so it is worth checking now.

Contact Cheshire Police on 101 or through the force website, quoting incident reference 26000879017.