TWO men are due in court in connection with a high-speed car chase through the Cotswolds.

As previously reported in the Journal, the pursuit of a red Citroen C1, which ended yards from a pub in Yarnton, near Oxford, involved 14 officers after it began at about 6pm on Wednesday, September 4, on the A40 near Witney.

Officers were alerted to a burglary at a home in Hoo Lane, Chipping Campden, around 4pm on the same day from where a red Citroen C1 had been stolen.

Following a search of the area, the vehicle was spotted by Thames Valley Police officers in West Oxfordshire who called in the force helicopter and followed the Citroen as it went on a cross-country route in an attempt to evade them.

It finally crashed through a farm gate off Yarnton Lane – more than 30 miles away from Campden.

Benjamin Perry, aged 28, of Windmill Close, Ilmington, was charged with burglary, theft, driving a motor vehicle dangerously, aggravated vehicle taking, theft by finding, driving above the legal limit, driving without a licence and driving without insurance when he answered police bail on September 17.

He was released on bail and is due at Cheltenham Magistrates Court on Thursday, October 17.

Lewis Charles Bye, also 28, of Hay Meadow, Shipston, is also due to appear at Cheltenham Magistrates Court on the same day charged with aggravated vehicle taking and dangerous driving.