A young man was arrested Tuesday night following a car chase by Paphos police in the downtown area.

According to the police statement, around 8pm a traffic patrol conducting checks via the automated registration system found that the vehicle in front of them was uninsured and signaled the driver to stop for document inspection.

The driver picked up speed and ignoring traffic signals came to an eventual halt upon colliding with a parked vehicle.

The driver then abandoned his vehicle and fled on foot, however, police stopped him in an adjacent road and proceeded to arrest him for driving a vehicle without insurance coverage, failing to obey police instructions, traffic violations and dangerous driving, as well as an invalid MOT.

The 20-year-old man, was subsequently found in possession of 16 grams of cannabis and a scale with traces of cannabis, as a result of which he was re-arrested for the crime of illegal drug possession.

A preliminary drug test yielded a positive result and the man gave samples for laboratory testing.