Locals speak of horror after man dies after car smashes into popular pub following police chase sparking a blaze

Those living close to a pub where a man died after ploughing into it after a police chase have spoken of their horror. A Dacia Sandero smashed into the White Lion pub on York Street in Heywood at around 3:15am in the early hours of this morning (Monday).

This sparked a fire with fire crews racing to the scene to extinguish the blaze. Firefighters donned breathing apparatus as they tackled the flames. Sadly the driver was pronounced dead at the scene. The man's name and age have not yet been disclosed.

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) say they have established from initial enquiries that the Dacia failed to stop for a liveried police patrol car on Bolton Road, around a mile and a half away.

READ MORE: Police watchdog informed after driver dies following early hours chase

A "short pursuit" commenced onto Rochdale Road East. "A few moments later a decision was made to discontinue the pursuit," the force said in a statement. They said that it was "shortly after the discontinuation" the car struck the building.

A large police cordon remained in place today with people being urged to avoid the area. A fire service screen was erected around the outside of the building. However, the crumpled car could be seen nestled amongst rubble inside the building. It was later brought out onto a recovery truck.

Fire crews could seen working in and around the building, before being later joined by joined by specialist forensic crime scene investigation (CSI) police officers.

There were also around a dozen police cars parked inside or around the cordon. The road closure led to congestion in the area with access to several local businesses inside or close to the cordon restricted.

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