Police are looking for a driver who led them on a chase in the early hours of yesterday morning, Thursday.

Officers say they came across a BMW on Withins Lane, Breightmet, and attempted to stop the vehicle.

Police say it was then driven off at speed and was chased before heading down a dirt track.

The car was later found abandoned on Beeston Close, Astley Bridge.

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A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Police (GMP) Bolton North said: "The car has been seized and enquiries are ongoing to identify the driver."

Earlier this year police identified vehicle crime as a priority as a day of action took place to deal with it.

And last year GMP welcomed an annual reduction in vehicle crime.

Superintendent Ian Jones, force vehicle crime lead for GMP, welcomed the reduction in vehicle crime.

He said: “We use a range of tactics to combat vehicle crime and those methods are now being shared with other forces across the UK.

"Tactics include high-visibility patrols, targeted arrest warrants and offender management to reduce the likelihood of reoffending.

“Operation Acquire is an ongoing operation that uses all of GMP's resources and that of our partners to fight all areas of neighbourhood crime including vehicle crime - we anticipate this will continue to reduce offences while making more arrests."

And this year it was revealed vehicle crime in Bolton has fallen 12 per cent annually.