Southampton: Family holiday in doubt as car smashed by stolen van

Gyozo Budai’s car, which was parked on Peveril Road - opposite his house - on Sunday morning, was among several cars damaged by the van during a police chase, which led to a 17-year-old boy being arrested on suspicion of series of offences.

The 42-year-old uses the blue Ford Focus St-Line to teach people how to drive - but it may now have to be written off.

READ MORE: Southampton: stolen van hits several vehicles, teen arrested

Having heard a commotion, he said: "I came outside and when I stepped out of my door, I saw the neighbours looking in the direction of my car and I turned around I saw my car had been smashed."

The driving instructor of four years was planning to drive his wife and three children on holiday to Hungary in the car next Monday - but these plans have now been left in jeopardy as he scrambles to find a hire car to drive there instead.

He said: "My first thought was ‘how am I going on holiday’ because we’re driving from the UK to Hungary.

“This has made my kids quite sad because they think we’re not going, and I still need to figure out if and how I am going. It has left us all feeling strange."

Police said they first identified a stolen van at 11.23am in South East Road, Sholing, and when the vehicle failed to stop, they followed it.

The van then crashed into a number of parked vehicles on St Monica Road, Sholing Road, Mortimer Road and Ludlow Road as it attempted to evade police.

The final collisions were on Peveril Road, where the driver and passenger jumped out of the van and ran away.

A 17-year-old boy from Southampton has since been arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving, failing to stop and theft of motor vehicle.

Peveril Road, Sholing (Image: Newsquest)

One of the residents on Peveril Road, Anne-Marie Zimmermann, described hearing the sound of an ‘almighty crash’.

The 64-year-old said: “I looked outside and that the police car was behind a white van and there was another car in between.

“I also heard the sound of someone running past my front door and someone shouting ‘police’.

She added: “This sort of thing doesn’t really happen down our street, it’s a very quiet road on Sundays and after a certain time on weekdays, so it was quite scary seeing that.”

Police are now appealing for witnesses. Anyone with information, CCTV or dash cam footage can call 101 or report online quoting reference number 44230296157.