Shoplifting led to car smash

A STOLEN Ford Mondeo collided with a people carrier on Monday night after twice being used for shoplifting.

The first incident was in Sainsbury's in Bexhill last Friday when staff reported a man and a woman shoplifting and assaulting staff.

They told police the registration of the Mondeo and the car was found to have been stolen in Hastings the previous night. Its number plate was also stolen from a different vehicle.

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The car was used in another shoplifting incident in Rye on Monday before being spotted by police travelling towards Hastings Old Town in Harold Road at 9.40pm.

Police realised the car was stolen and turned round to give chase. The Mondeo overtook a four-wheel drive car and was in the middle of the road at the brow of a hill when it collided with a Vauxhall Zafira people carrier.

The five people in the Zafira came from Guildford, Surrey, and were staying at a caravan site in Hastings. The group was made up of four women and one man.

A woman driver had to be cut out of the car by firefighters. All five were taken to hospital and one woman remains at the Conquest with a suspected broken hip.

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The male driver and female passenger of the Mondeo were both taken to the Conquest before being released and then taken into custody at Hastings Police Station in connection with the theft in Bexhill and the stolen Mondeo.

Firefighters from The Ridge and Bohemia secured the area and stayed on the scene for about 90 minutes.

The Ridge sub-officer Paul Evans said: "Both cars were leaking quite a bit of fuel and there was a lot of debris everywhere and people wandering around injured."

Peter Pearce, of Harold Road, came out of his house when he heard the crash.

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He said: "Half the silver car was written off and the engine was totally dislodged and pushed to one side."

The Police Complaints Authority is investigating the incident, as is standard procedure when police are involved in a car crash.