Two men have been arrested following a police car collision in Hendon yesterday.

A red Volvo, believed to be an unmarked police car, collided with a black people carrier, which then collided with a BMW.

Two men were seen running from the scene of the crash in Brent Street, at the junction with the A406, at about 3pm.

One man was taken to hospital with minor injuries, but has since been discharged and arrested on suspicion of kidnap.

Another man, 24, from Warwick Road, Ealing, was arrested at 4.30pm on suspicion of kidnap and drugs-related offences.

Both men remain in custody at separate central London police stations.

Mark Taub saw the incident as he approached the junction with Brent Street from Golders Green.

He said: “I heard a substantial bang and looked across to see smoke coming out of a car.

“They were both running away up Brent Street and I could see one had blood on his face from the car crash.

“There were people screaming and some were shouting 'stop them'.”

He described two Asian-looking men thought to be in their 20s being chased by officers carrying what he recognised as semi-automatic guns and shouting “stop or we will shoot”.

Mr Taub added: “They must have been some seriously bad guys. I was taken aback by the fact the police were carrying guns.

“They were obviously marked guys because the police knew they needed to catch them.”

The roads were blocked off to drivers and pedestrians as police searched the surrounding areas.

A police helicopter circled above the scene and over the flats in Danescroft for about an hour and a half.

Resident of the estate Rosie Ben-Shushan said: “I heard the helicopter and when I came outside I was directed down the road by police.

“I couldn’t move, I was petrified. Everybody was so nervous because the police were all walking around.

“They told me to walk away because they were looking for a very dangerous man.”

A police spokesman said the collision happened during an ongoing police operation led by the specialist crime directorate.

About five police cars, unmarked police vehicles and a dog unit attended the scene.

One lane eastbound on the North Circular was closed, resulting in long tailbacks.