Four masked robbers smashed their car into a Harrogate supermarket - then drove into a police car as they were forced to flee empty-handed.
The ram-raid happened at a Co-op supermarket in Leeds Road, Harrogate, when four men wearing balaclavas slammed their way through the rear of the store using a Ford Fiesta. But police surprised the robbers after responding to a tip-off that a raid could be under way.
A resident in Armsford Avenue, near the supermarket, told them he had spotted some masked men getting out of a Ford Mondeo and getting into another vehicle.
Officers arrived within three minutes and found wheelie bins blocking Mount Street, the road behind the supermarket.
The police approached the suspected raiders, who were by now in a stolen Toyota Corina car. A North Yorkshire Police spokesman said the police car and Toyota were "nose to nose". He said the Toyota then drove into the police car and the offenders fled on foot.
Two 24-year-old men from Bradford were arrested, and police are still seeking two others.
Updated: 10:51 Tuesday, June 12, 2001
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