Police pulled over a private hire van this morning. 

Traffic officers were following a private hire van in the Houndmills area that suddenly pulled into the courtyard of a business just before 8.30am on Friday morning.

The men inside the van jumped out and attempted to hide, staff said. 

A member of staff said: "Police must have been chasing them. They came into our secured area. One of them got arrested."

The worker said they had no idea why they pulled into JJ's Food Services.

Photographs taken at the scene show bemused workers watching the drama unfold as police radio for further information.

The private van is parked well inside the gated area.

A witness said officers were seen carrying bags of items from the van. A man in black running leggings, trainers and a black jumper was arrested at the scene.

Hampshire Constabulary has been contacted for comment.

The van was a private rental from Bob Douglas Van Hire.

A member of staff told the Gazette that the driver was "driving a bit silly" and was followed by police.

They said: "It comes up on a tracker. All of our vehicles are tracked so the moment they are speeding or it is impacted, we know about it."

They said police took the keys from the driver and returned the vehicle to their company, based on Rankine Road in Oakridge. 

The man who was arrested called the Gazette to say he was not arrested. "I was put in handcuffs but released. It was a normal traffic stop," he said.