A high speed police chase which saw a bag of drugs and cash thrown from a car window came to a dramatic end - when police found a child less than a year old on the back seat.

Three people were arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply class A drugs following the car chase.

All of which began at 9.30pm on Friday (March 20) when officers followed a vehicle on the A40 heading towards Cheltenham.

A statement from police said: "It failed to stop and a pursuit ensued through Cheltenham where items were thrown out of the car.

"The vehicle had jumped red lights and reached high speeds.

"It was then brought to a stop on Tewkesbury Road. Once safely stopped a child under a year old was found in the rear of the car, thankfully unharmed.

"A carrier bag thousands of pounds and suspected crack cocaine were recovered from someone's driveway after it was thrown from a vehicle during a police pursuit. The vehicle was also seized.

"Two men and a woman from Bristol were arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply class A drugs."

Detective Chief Superintendent Richard Cooper said: "This was a fantastic team effort involving staff in our control room and officers from firearms, roads policing, response unit, and the dog handler.

"It was shocking for officers to find that after a pursuit, where a vehicle failed to stop, had skipped red lights and reached high speeds, a small child had been inside the car throughout.

"Our specially trained pursuit officers ultimately manoeuvred the vehicle safely to a stop in a lay-by and thankfully no members of the public or those inside the vehicle were injured."