Man held after girl escapes car hijacked in Belfast

A man is being questioned in Co Louth after a car was hijacked in Belfast with a 17-year-old girl inside, who managed to escape in Lisburn.

According to a statement from the PSNI, police received a report early yesterday morning that a vehicle which had been parked in the Botanic Avenue area, had been stolen with a girl still in the car.

The statement continued: "The car stopped on the Saintfield Road, Lisburn where the girl escaped from the vehicle.

"The car was observed a short time later driving at speeds in excess of 100mph on the A1 and officers made contact with our colleagues in An Garda Síochána to inform them the vehicle was driving towards the border.

"At around 2.20am, we received a report from AGS to say they had located the stolen car and had arrested a 25-year-old man in Dundalk, he remains in custody at this stage.

"The victim was not injured but left shaken by her ordeal. Thankfully we are not dealing with any casualties after some very dangerous and reckless behaviour by the suspect involved.

"Excellent cooperative work between ourselves and our colleagues in the An Garda Síochána have ensured this vehicle was recovered and the suspect was arrested."

In a statement, the gardaí said the car was later located on the Newry Road in Dundalk and a man was arrested at a nearby location.

He is currently detained at a Garda station in Co Louth.

The vehicle was seized by gardaí and removed for technical examination.

SDLP councillor Gary McKeown welcomed the cross-border operation.

He said: "This is a shocking incident, and one which must have been a harrowing ordeal for the person who was in the car when it was stolen on Botanic Avenue, so the cross-border operation by the PSNI and Gardaí to apprehend the suspect is very welcome.

"Not only would this incident have caused distress to the woman who was in the car, but countless lives were put at risk as a result of it being driven at over 100mph, so it's reassuring that an arrest has taken place.

"My thoughts are with the victim and I hope she is being offered support to help her recover from this incident."