TWO men have been arrested following a police chase in which two cars ended up in the River Eden.

Suspects involved in the incident managed to escape from officers after the cars ended up in the water.

The driver and any passengers of the Land Rover Discovery managed to evade police after their car plunged into the river at Wetheral.

Police are not sure how many people were in the Land Rover Discovery when it drove into Wetheral and down the road past the parish church which leads directly onto the river.

The police car, in hot pursuit, also dived into the river. It is "damaged beyond repair", a force spokesman confirmed this afternoon.

The car chase started soon after 11pm last night when the Land Rover Discovery failed to stop for police on the M6.

Two men, aged 26 and 33, from Liverpool have since been arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving and failing to stop for police.

The younger man has also been arrested for possessing cannabis.

They have been detained by police for questioning.

A spokesman from Cumbria Police said: "The vehicle failed to stop for a marked roads policing vehicle and ended up travelling to Wetheral where it left the road with a pursuing police vehicle. Both vehicles ended in the River Eden. Nobody was injured.

"Both vehicles have been recovered and the offending vehicle has been seized."

Firefighters from Carlisle east and west stations were called to the scene at about midnight to check the vehicles over.

Wearing swift water gear, they checked if the cars were secure and that no-one was in them. Firefighters were on scene for about an hour and a half.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact police on 101 or alternatively you can call Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.