Police are currently investigating a series of linked incidents which happened in Basingstoke on the evening of Tuesday, October 30.
At about 7.30pm, two men were seen on the hard shoulder of the M3 between junctions 6 and 7, trying to flag down motorists for a lift. Shortly after this, police received reports of two men running away from a Ford Mondeo which seemed to have broken down and was parked on the hard shoulder.
At about 7.45pm, reports were received of a man being assaulted in his car in the car park of Sony Business Park in Jays Close. The man was threatened and assaulted but due to his actions, his car was not taken.
Shortly after this incident was reported to police, a call was received from another member of the public reporting that a woman had been threatened and assaulted in Gainsborough Road and her white Volkswagen Beetle car was stolen.
This car was recovered a short time later, abandoned in the grounds of Queen Mary's College in Cliddesden Road.
Later that evening, at about 9.15pm, a call was received from another member of the public reporting that a Nissan Cabstar van had been stolen from a driveway in Diana Close. In his attempts to prevent the vehicle being taken a man was injured and was taken to hospital for treatment.
This 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.
"I am appealing for information about all of these incidents. Did you see any of the vehicles mentioned being driven erratically in Basingstoke between about 7.45pm and 10pm?"
Two 20-year-old men and a 19-year-old man, all from Basingstoke, were arrested in connection with these incidents and have since been released with no further action.
RMS Number: 4412424455
