River drama as boy tries to escape

Officers attended scene and located a blue BMW X4, but while they were examining the vehicle three youths entered the car park.

As the police approached, the youths ran off, with one 15-year-old boy jumping into the nearby river.

An eyewitness, who wished to remain anonymous, said: "The police were running everywhere trying to chase these guys, but one of them jumped into the river. One of the policemen got in and handcuffed him while in the river.

"There was actually a chase while they were both running in the water, but when the policeman got him the boy just stood there and put his hands out to be cuffed. He looked quite strong but didn't put up a fight."

The passer-by said the pair were in the water for about 15 minutes, and said a lot of people were watching the event.

He said: "Quite a lot of people were coming out of shops and pubs and a lot of people passing by stopped to look. I thought it was quite humorous, and I asked the police if they could fish out the shopping trolleys while they were in there, but it didn't go down well."

Although the police searched for the other two, they couldn't be found.

The other two suspects are described as being white males in their teens, of untidy appearance and wearing torn clothing.

The vehicle had been stolen from an address in Ruislip, and the Metropolitan Police are now leading the investigation.