Pete Doherty was arrested in the early hours of Saturday morning for suspicion of joy riding.

Around 5am yesterday morning, police spotted a car thought to have been stolen racing through Hackney in east London and gave chase when the car didn’t immediately stop. According to reports, Pete, who had been a passenger in the car, and another man ran away when they finally stopped the car. Police gave chase on foot while sniffer dogs were brought in to check the car.

An onlooker told the Sunday Mirror Pete was easily caught and arrested: “He wasn’t putting up a fight at all and was quite sheepish about it.

“He looked a bit like a puppy caught in the headlights. He looked over towards us but didn’t really seem to be with it and looked like he was staring straight through us.”

“There were loads of police there and they caught his mate - who’d taken his top off - around the corner.”

A police spokesperson confirmed the incident and that a third man - the driver - had been taken to hospital: “Police arrested three males aged 35, 22, and 27 in the early hours of Saturday morning.”

“The three men were arrested after the vehicle they were travelling in failed to stop for police. The driver was arrested inside the vehicle and has been taken to an East London hospital as a precautionary measure. He has been arrested on suspicion of being unfit to drive, driving whilst disqualified and on suspicion of theft of a motor vehicle.”

“The two other men decamped from the vehicle and were pursued by police and they were caught nearby. They have both been arrested on suspicion of theft of a motor vehicle.”