A 16-year-old boy has been arrested covered in mud after being chased by police officers through coastal mudflats following a car crash.

The teenager was pursued by officers from Hampshire police after he allegedly failed to stop before he crashed a Vauxhall Astra into a wall in Havant Road, Hayling Island, at 7pm on Saturday.

He then led them on a chase through bushes and mudflats in Langstone Harbour.

The force’s roads policing unit posted photos on Twitter of the suspect covered in mud and wrapped in a space blanket after he had been detained.

The officers wrote: “Brief pursuit in a vehicle, followed by some extremely unusual effort to evade us in a foot chase. 20 minutes through bushes and then into the mudflats at Langstone. Driver detained and requiring a shower.”

A Hampshire police spokesman said: “A 16-year-old boy from Emsworth was arrested on suspicion of driving a motor vehicle dangerously, using a vehicle on a road without third party insurance, theft of a motor vehicle, and driving a vehicle with a proportion of a specific controlled drug above the specified limit.”

He added the suspect had been released under investigation and inquiries were ongoing.