After the first ten miles the sound of sirens could be heard in the distance. They grew louder and woke Joanne with a start. ‘They can’t be after us!’ A note of panic rang in her voice then they lapsed into silence as they listened. ‘Are we near a junction?’

‘Not for another fifteen or twenty miles. What shall we do?’

‘Just carry on. They might go past – there could be an accident or something.’ Joanne wasn’t one to panic but grew increasingly concerned as the sirens grew louder.

‘Bloody hell, they’re flashing me to stop!’ Pete checked the rear-view mirror and saw two police cars – the first flashing its lights.

‘Put your foot down!’ Joanne shouted. ‘There’s no way I’m going to prison.’

Pete happily complied, knowing his car was every bit as powerful as the police cars and confident of his driving abilities. Joanne held on to the seat belt, eyes wide at the speed they were reaching. Her brother weaved in and out of the traffic and soon put distance between them and the police cars.

In no time at all they’d reached over ninety miles an hour – other cars blared their horns, some even pulled off the motorway on to the hard shoulder to avoid the potential danger. The police cars stayed with them, although further back by then, bringing a smile to Pete’s face and making Joanne’s heart race. Her brother was actually enjoying the chase, taking risks was nothing short of a challenge which Joanne knew he loved, and they were undoubtedly at risk.

The speedometer registered a hundred and very soon a hundred and ten, all the while putting more distance between them and the police. Pete was grinning almost manically. With his foot to the floor he weaved through the other traffic while Joanne looked pale and afraid.

‘Are you staying on the motorway or coming off at the next junction? It can’t be far now,’ Joanne asked.

‘If we can get enough distance between us, I’ll turn off and hopefully they’ll miss the junction.’ The speedometer touched almost a hundred and twenty and the police cars were slipping behind, unable to take the same risks with public safety. Pete kept his nerve, clearly enjoying the cat-and-mouse game. As the next exit approached, he stayed on the motorway until the last minute, passing the 300 yard sign, the 200, and 100 until at the very last possible second he swerved left through a gap in the traffic and was on the slip road.

‘Watch to see if they’re following!’ he yelled to Joanne. She turned to look and although the sirens could still be heard, the police cars had dropped even further back and couldn’t be seen. Pete laughed and allowed himself to glance over his shoulder to watch them go sailing past the junction.