A woman suffered a terrifying ordeal after an armed teenager tried to break into her house in Laindon while on the run from police.

The 15-year-old boy thumped repeatedly on the woman’s door in Fern Hill to let him in.

She believes that the boy was trying to escape police after he had stolen a car from Festival Leisure Park, Basildon.

The woman, who asked not to be named, said: “The police said to me that he could have been trying to get into my house to hide.”

She described how the incident, which happened on Wednesday night, took place just as she was about to go to sleep.

She said: “I was in bed when there was a knock on my door. I did not know who it was, no one knocks on my door at that time, so I chose to ignore it.

“Then there was a really loud bang. I said: ‘Who is it?’ but nobody answered. I saw someone in their car reversing in the square and driving down the road.

“I called my boyfriend and asked him what I should do, then the person stepped out of the car with something with a big wooden object in their hand.

“It looked like it could have been an axe or a hammer.”

The woman called the police and by 11pm, five police cars had arrived in the road, off Valence Way.

A police helicopter was also flying over the estate searching for the boy.

The woman said that the boy was wearing a baseball cap, however, it was not clear to see in the darkness.

She described the car as being small with a flat rear on it.

Police remained in the street for a few hours after the incident, while other officers continued to look for the 15-year-old.

A police spokesman said: “Police attempted to stop a Hyundai i30 near Festival Leisure Park, Basildon, shortly after 10.35pm on Wednesday, November 8. It failed to stop and a pursuit was authorised. It stopped in Little Oxcroft and the driver fled. Officers carried out a search, assisted by a force helicopter.

“A 15-year-old boy from Basildon was arrested on suspicion of burglary and is currently in custody for questioning. The car had previously been reported stolen from an address in Latchetts Shaw, Basildon.”