The moment a cop narrowly avoided being crushed as Potton thief makes getaway

The body-cam footage captures the criminals - who had just stolen an ATM - ramming two marked police cars which had blocked off their exit.

The thieves - a 17-year-old boy and a 21-year-old man - forced one officer to climb a wall to avoid being crushed in the collision.

The burglars dragged the cash machine out of a Co-op in Kessingland, Suffolk, in the early hours of the morning on September 10.

The two offenders have both received custodial sentences.

Jack Morgan, 21, of Common Road, Potton appeared at Cambridge Crown Court on January 29 where he pleaded guilty for burglary, theft of a motor vehicle and attempted theft of a motor vehicle.

Morgan received five years’ imprisonment while the 17-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was given a four-month detention and a training order.

The boy also received an 10 month detention and training order after being convicted of a separate burglary conspiracy and was banned from driving for 19 months.

Officers were called to the Co-op following reports of a burglary in progress in at around 2.40am.

The thieves had smashed the front window of the supermarket and were using a Land Rover Defender to drag out the cash machine.

However, when the Land Rover became stuck, the thieves abandoned the vehicle and attached the ATM to the back of their blue VW Golf.

Cops attempted to corner the criminals in a cul-de-sac using their vehicles but were forced to leap out of the way as the thieves rammed them in an attempt to escape.

The cash machine became detached during the collision and the thieves were forced to drive off empty handed, which prompted a high-speed car chase.

After reaching speeds of more than 100mph, the thieves eventually abandoned the vehicle and fled the scene in separate directions, both taking refuge in bushes.

The 17-year-old was located by a police dog handler and the 21-year-old man gave himself up to police at around 5.30am - three hours afters breaking into the shop.

It later emerged that the Land Rover Defender had been stolen from a property in Gisleham, Suffolk, earlier the same morning - just three miles from the Co-op.

The criminals were also convicted of the attempted theft of a second Land Rover Discovery from a premises in Barley Way, Lowestoft, during the same night.

Detective Inspector Matt Adams said: “Jack Morgan and his 17-year-old accomplice were apprehended as a result of excellent police work.

“I would like to take this opportunity to commend the bravery of the officers involved in the pursuit and arrests of these two individuals.

“They showed wanton disregard for life and property, with the 17-year-old driving the vehicle extremely dangerously and almost crushing one officer who was very fortunate to escape without sustaining life-changing injuries.

“As determined as they were to evade capture, our officers were more determined to find and detain them.”