Child, 5, injured as vehicle struck by stolen car

A five-year-old girl was seriously injured when the car in which she was travelling was in collision with a stolen vehicle being followed by police, officers have said.

South Yorkshire Police said the girl was taken to hospital following the incident in Barnsley and she remains there with serious injuries.

A force spokesman said she was in the rear of a white Range Rover Evoque which was in collision with a blue Citroen C3 on Fish Dam Lane on Sunday.

The 29-year-old driver of the stolen Citroen, who was also seriously injured, has been arrested on suspicion of burglary and causing serious injury by dangerous driving, the spokesman said.

He said: “At 12.35pm, it is reported that an officer in a marked police car in the Athersley North area of Barnsley spotted a vehicle with a smashed windscreen.

“The vehicle, a blue Citroen C3, is believed to have become aware of the police presence and drove off, with the police vehicle following.

“On Fish Dam Lane, as the Citroen was travelling in the general direction of Royston, it was involved in a collision with a white Range Rover Evoque travelling the opposite way. The collision happened close to the junction with Shaw Lane.

“The Citroen was later identified as having been stolen in a burglary in Barnsley.”

He said the driver of the Evoque, a 32-yearold man, and the front seat passenger, a 32-year-old woman, both suffered minor injuries.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has been notified, he said.

Police have asked for witnesses to call on 101.