A man has been arrested in Dundalk after stealing a car in south Belfast with a teenage girl still inside it.
The car was parked on Botanic Avenue on Saturday when a man stole it with the 17-year-old still inside the vehicle.
She was able to escape the car when it stopped on the Saintfield Road. It was seen shortly after driving at 100mph on the A1, headed towards the border.
The PSNI informed An Garda Síochána of the stolen vehicle and at around 2:20am Gardaí found the car in Dundalk.
They arrested a 25-year-old man, who remains in custody.
The girl who was in the car when it stolen is said to be “shaken by her ordeal”, but there are no reports of her suffering physical injuries.
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PSNI detective sergeant McVeigh said, “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.”
SDLP councillor Gary McKeown said it was a harrowing incident.
“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,” he said.
“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.”