A DRIVER was caught by police hiding in a garden after crashing a stolen car from Great Sankey which ended up on its roof in Widnes last night.

A police helicopter helped to catch the man after he ran away from the incident involving a Hyundai car.

The 25-year-old from Widnes, who now lives in St Helens, was arrested and is now in custody.

Det Insp Matt Durcan said: “The car was stolen from Halton Road in Great Sankey at 4.30pm.

"A lady was delivering leaflets in the area and left her car unattended for a fraction of a second.

“A man jumped in and drove off.

“An hour later, a patrol came across the vehicle in Sankey and followed it.

“It was driven fast, erratically and dangerously towards Widnes on the wrong side of the road.

"It clipped the kerb and ended up on its roof.

“The driver ran out of the car into a nearby garden. We found him hiding behind a bush.

“We are grateful officers and members of the public were not hurt.”

The driver will be interviewed this afternoon.

Witnesses said it was lucky nobody had been hurt.