A 21-year-old man from Birkirkara who was arrested after a chase last night was driving in violation of a court ban.

The police said this morning that the man was ordered to stop near San Anton Gardens last night after an officer recognised him. The man has a number of pending criminal cases and a court had suspended his driving licence.

Rather than stopping, the motorist drove his silver-blue Mercedes at high speed towards Attard followed by a police car which called back-up.

The chase continued to Rabat, Zebbug, Attard, Mtarfa, Ta' Qali and then back to Zebbug. At times the man drove against the flow of traffic and on the pavement. 

He hit a number of cars on the way.

The car was blocked in Zebbug after a skid. The police fired a warning shot when the motorist tried to reverse at the police.  A policeman had to dodge out of the way of the reversing car and was slightly hurt.

The motorist was then arrested after he verbally and physically assaulted the officers.

He is expected to be taken to court shortly.

This was the second such case in a few weeks. Earlier this month a man was jailed on conviction after he ignored a signal to stop while driving a stolen quadbike. He was chased and blocked in Ghaxaq and Gudja, where he slightly injured a policeman.