Moment suspected motorbike thief is tackled to the ground after escaping from an ambulance as he was being treated for crash injuries following police chase

Police officers wrestled an 'armed joyrider' to the ground after he burst out of an ambulance and tried to escape. 

Only moments before he led police on a pursuit in a heavily built up residential area before crashing and coming off a motorbike. 

Offices called paramedics to treat the suspect and while he was being tended to he bolted out the back of an ambulance and began to run away on Thursday afternoon. 

Just as it looked like he was going to make good his escape he was flattened by a 6ft officer in a spearing rugby tackle. 

Footage show the man in torn grey joggers with a bloody left leg, being bundled to the ground on Whitworth Road, Rochdale.

Greater Manchester police released the footage on X, formerly Twitter, explaining the man was arrested on suspicion of stealing a motor vehicle, possession of drugs and an offensive weapon. 

In a cheeky caption, the force said: 'Who says we only chase people in cars? 

'Having been arrested in the back of an ambulance for theft, drugs and weapons offences this perp thought he could get away.'

But the suspected criminal had not counted on a bit of old fashioned policing and soon got a rude awakening.

A Greater Manchester Police spokesman said: 'This suspected motorbike thief thought he could escape from our officers following a pursuit in Rochdale but was swiftly proved wrong. 

'He’s now in custody on suspicion of theft of a motor vehicle, possession of drugs and an offensive weapon, and escape of lawful custody.'

Car thieves and joyriders are using increasingly sophisticated technology to steal vehicles and evade detection. 

This includes key-cloning which tricks a vehicle's security system into thinking the genuine key is being used to switch on the engine.