A CAR chase through the streets of Burnley ended in a 80-minute rooftop stand-off, police said.

The drama started at 9.10pm on Saturday when officers spotted a VW Passat thought to have been stolen from the North Yorkshire area.

Instead of pulling over when requested, the driver put his foot down and fled.

A brief chase ensued, although officers lost sight of the car, Insp Simon Holderness said.

"The vehicle was seen again later on in the evening at around 10.10pm," he said.

"There was a short pursuit which lasted only a couple of minutes before the vehicle collided with street furniture."

The car's driver then climbed onto a bungalow roof in Kelbrook Drive, Coal Clough, where he remained for over an hour as officers negotiated with him.

Insp Holderness said: "At 11.30pm, the male surrendered to police and came down off the roof."

Local councillor Gordon Birtwistle said he saw a police helicopter hovering over the area when he was returning to his home in Glen View Road.

He said: "This is the first time anything like this has ever happened on that road, it's just bungalows. It's a dead end.

"We commented the police must have been chasing somebody somewhere, this is obviously what it was.

"I hope the police catch him and I hope the magistrates throw the book at him. It's alright for him tearing around in somebody else's car, the car can be replaced and if he kills himself, that's up to him, but he put other people's lives at risk too."

The incident is the second of its type to happen in East Lancashire in just two weeks.

On May 31, a four-hour rooftop siege came to a peaceful end in Clayton-le-Moors after a police chase came to a dramatic end nearby, with three cars — including a police vehicle — left badly damaged.

A police helicopter was called and numerous officers descended on Brisbane Street, off Whalley Road, as a local man, who is well known to police but cannot be named for legal reasons, climbed up a drainpipe and onto the tiles.

Police and community support officers blocked off neighbouring streets with their vehicles and kept their distance as the man talked to members of his family on the ground.

He remained on the roof until around 6.30pm, when he came down and was driven off in a waiting car. He was not arrested.

* A 29-year-old man from Accrington was held on suspicion of stealing a car and several traffic related offences in connection with Saturday's drama. He was still in custody yesterday.