![Red Renault Megane abandoned in Palmers Leaze, Bradley Stoke. [Credit: @ASPThornbury on Twitter]](https://www.bradleystokejournal.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/red-renault-megan-abandoned-bradley-stoke.jpg "Red Renault Megane abandoned in Palmers Leaze. [Credit: @ASPThornbury on Twitter]")
The deployment of the police helicopter over Bradley Stoke for around half-an-hour last night (Wednesday 8th June) was connected with a vehicle pursuit which had started nearly two hours earlier in Thornbury.
The helicopter was first seen circling over the The Common East area of Bradley Stoke at around 9pm, before gradually moving down to the south of the town, where it hovered over the Webbs Wood Road area until shortly after 9.30pm.
More than 70 comments regarding the incident were made on the Bradley Stoke Journal’s Facebook page, with several readers reporting sightings of police cars and ambulances in south Bradley Stoke. Several comments referred to police cars being present in Palmers Leaze and one reader said they had been informed by a police officer that a vehicle had been abandoned there and that an occupant “had fled, possibly towards the motorway”.
A clue to what had been going on was revealed later in a tweet made by Thornbury police at 10.01pm:
“Another pursuit Bradley Stoke, the suspicious car from Thornbury abandoned, the driver ran off towards Vantage Park.”
Vantage Park is the nearby business park on Old Gloucester Road which houses the Winter Stream Farm pub.
The tweet included a photo of a red car with the driver’s door open (above).
In response to an enquiry from the Journal, an Avon and Somerset Police spokesperson said today (Thursday):
“We were alerted to a male who was acting suspiciously in Church Road, Thornbury just after 7.20pm last night.”
“After he was approached by officers, he made off from the area in a car at speed.”
“We utilised a number of resources, including the police helicopter, to locate the vehicle.”
“It was later found abandoned in Palmers Leaze, Bradley Stoke.”
“Our investigation continues but we would ask anyone with information to contact us now on 101 and quote crime reference number 5216125216.”
An earlier tweet by Thornbury police identified the vehicle involved in the incident as a red Renault Megan.
https://twitter.com/ASPThornbury/status/740616647283740672
Related link: Post and comments on the BSJ Facebook page
Discussion on the BSJ Facebook page:
* 8th June 2016
* 9th June 2016