Two teenagers stole £30,000 worth of chewing gum and tried to run away with all of it as police chased them.

Keon Sanderson, 18, and Ellis Benecke, 19, targeted the Wrigley lorry while it was parked and the driver was asleep in a service area on the M5 in Gloucestershire.

They cut a hole in the side of the lorry and transferred the gum to their own HGV.

But someone spotted the young men and called the police just after 3am on May 4.

Once the teenagers had packed their van, they started fleeing up the motorway.

They refused to stop for police and drove the wrong way round a roundabout and on the other side of the road.

Officers eventually managed to stop their vehicle but Sanderson and Benecke then tried to run away on foot.

But they ended up being found by a police dog and its handler.

Both defendants pleaded guilty to theft and admitted possession of cannabis at Gloucester Crown Court on Tuesday.

They were released on conditional bail until July 18 when they will be sentenced.

Prosecutor Nicola Wood said: ‘Both defendants are of relatively good character. Sanderson has no previous criminal convictions and Benecke has just one driving-related conviction.’

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