‘Thousands of pounds’ worth of Class A drugs were found by after a car chase in Newbury town centre, Thames Valley Police believe.

The drugs and the vehicle were recovered on after officers discontinued the pursuit on the grounds of public safety and the driver has not been located.

The seizure came as part of a joint operation on Wednesday with officers from West Berkshire, in which police also arrested a suspected drink driver, 27, from Newbury.

Inspector Simon Hills of the Joint Operations Roads Policing Unit said: “This type of operation is designed to make the roads in Newbury safe for our law abiding residents and visitors to use without the fear of crime.

Read more: M4 live traffic updates as protesters block motorway

“The operation has been a success and my message to those intent on committing crime is quite simple – we will be running more of these operations across Hampshire and Thames Valley, we will target you, and we will seek to free our roads from those who present the most risk to all of us.”

During the operation, officers reported six drivers for using a vehicle without insurance, one of which did not have a licence, and seized five of the vehicles.

One driver was issued a fixed penalty for having no current MOT on their vehicle.

Read more: Reading crime map shows all offences recorded in August

Detective sergeant Joanne Pape from the West Berkshire police said: “We are very pleased to have run this operation, which has been part funded by the Thames Valley Police Violence Reduction Unit, targeting those who disregard the law and cause harm to others.

He added: “We would like to reassure the public who may have seen an increased police presence on Wednesday that this was in relation to this operation, and where any disruption was caused we thank them for their patience, understanding and support.”

Named Operation Titan, the purpose of the joint work was to deny criminals the use of the roads.