Police chased a carjacker as he tore through Sussex with his lights off and at speeds of up to 100mph.

The police helicopter and sophisticated cameras were used to track the suspect for almost five hours.

The drama began when a woman was ordered out of her car in Horsham at 8pm on Wednesday.

She had been playing a game on her mobile phone when a man in his 20s approached her.

He opened the door, pointed a broken bottle at her face and told her to get out.

The suspect jumped into the black Vauxhall Corsa SRi, which had been parked outside the Black Jug pub in North Street, Horsham. As he sped off he shouted to the victim: "It's insured."

Police were called and found the victim shaken but unharmed.

The Sussex Police helicopter was scrambled from its base at Shoreham airport to track the car but at first it could not be found.

Surveillance cameras, used to recognise the number plates of suspect cars, recorded it at Buck Barn, near Horsham, at 11.40pm.

At midnight, staff at a garage in West Grinstead told police the driver had put £34 of petrol in the car and driven off without paying.

Number plate cameras next pinpointed the Corsa heading east in Portslade at 1am.

The helicopter was again called in to search for it and 30 minutes later it was spotted in Hove.

Sergeant Richard Delacour said: "A police response car followed it along Church Road in Hove at a safe distance.

"It was driving at 80mph with its lights off and at times was on the wrong side of the road.

"Because of the speeds it was travelling, the operational commander called off the follow for safety reasons."

The car was again tracked and spotted heading west at 60mph through Southwick.

There were further sightings of it in the Broadwater area of Worthing and in Offington.

Sussex Police commanders continued to monitor the situation, ordering officers to stop following the car when it became too dangerous to continue.

The helicopter was re-launched at 1.50am, after the car was seen on the A27 towards Bognor.

It turned towards Worthing and then doubled back on itself and was seen travelling at 90mph on the A259, near the Bodyshop roundabout at Littlehampton.

Police cars finally brought the chase to a close when the car drove into a dead-end on a private estate in Elmer Road, Middleton, near Bognor.

Officers drove into the side of the car to prevent it escaping. A 20-year-old Pulborough man was arrested on suspicion of robbery.

A Sussex Police spokesman said: "This was an excellent piece of work from all the officers concerned."