THREE men have been arrested following a series of carjacking attempts in Basingstoke.

The crimes all took place last night (Oct 30) between 7.30pm and 10pm, and at one point, a police helicopter was deployed to search for the suspects.

At 7.30pm, two men were seen on the hard shoulder of the M3 between junctions six and seven, trying to flag down motorists for a lift. Police then received a report of two men running away from a Ford Mondeo that had broken down and parked on the hard shoulder.

At 7.45pm, a man was assaulted in his car in the car park of Sony Business Park, in Jays Close, Viables. Police said he was threatened and assaulted but his car was not stolen due to his actions.

Shortly afterwards, a woman was threatened and assaulted in Gainsborough Road, Black Dam, and her white Volkswagen Beetle car was stolen. The car was later found abandoned in the grounds of Queen Mary’s College, in Cliddesden Road.

At 9.15pm, a member of the public reported that a Nissan Cabstar van had been stolen from a driveway in Diana Close, South Ham. A man was injured and taken to Basingstoke hospital after trying to stop the car being stolen.

The van has also been recovered by police.

Detective Inspector Ben Chivers said: “We believe that the same people were involved in each of these incidents.

“The outcome of these confrontational situations could have been far worse and someone could have been seriously hurt.

“However, I would like to reassure members of the public that this type of offending is extremely rare in Basingstoke.”

He asked for anyone who saw the vehicles being driven erratically around the town on Tuesday night to call Basingstoke CID on 101 or call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Two 20-year-old men and a 19-year-old man, all from Basingstoke, have been arrested in connection with these incidents and are currently in police custody.