Exploding petrol drum thrown at gardaí in chase

A Garda car was rammed three times and officers had to avoid a petrol drum that exploded after being thrown onto the road during a high-speed chase through the midlands.

Two speeding raiders threw the five-gallon drum of petrol directly into the path of the patrol car. The drum exploded and only the quick reactions of the driver prevented a tragic crash, a court heard yesterday.

Gardaí from Longford, Carrick-on-Shannon, and Mullingar, were all involved in the high-speed pursuit of Thomas McCarthy, aged 27, and his brother, John, aged 21, following a string of robberies.