A video posted on TikTok has shown a police car was stolen by members of the public after a police officer had left the vehicle to arrest someone.

The video shows the BMW 4x4 police car reversing on a road and pavement at speed in the Kirkholt area of Rochdale over the weekend.

With the caption "Local kids steal a police car", the TikTok has been viewed more an 1.7 million times and has more than 110,500 likes within 15 hours of being posted online.

@jonnymag4 #stolenpolicecar #joyrider #foryoupage #fyp #fypp #viral ♬ CANT STOP PLAYING CIAN MCFEELY EDIT - lowandslow media

Now, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) have issued a statement on the incident, saying the vehicle was stolen after a police officer had left it following a pursuit to detain a man in his 20s in a nearby shop.

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Police also say they have identified the person who was driving the car.

A post shared on GMP's Rochdale page reads: "We’re aware of a video being shared online of a police car being driven dangerously in Kirkholt over the weekend.

"This happened after an officer left the car to bravely detain a 28-year-old man in a nearby shop following a pursuit.

"Someone decided to get into the car and behave in this unacceptable manner and now believe we have identified them for further action."