Berlin -- A drunken British soldier stationed in Germany commandeered two of his unit's armoured vehicles for a drunken joyride Friday, authorities said, sparking a police chase on a local road.

The 18-year-old man, who had been drinking heavily, climbed aboard one of the vehicles at Camp Bergen-Hohne barracks in northern Germany at about 4:00 am and manoeuvred it onto the street before swerving off the road, a police spokeswoman said.

The soldier, who was not identified, then ran back to the base and hopped into another armoured vehicle and drove it about three kilometres (two miles).

British military police tried to overtake the soldier when he nearly collided with a car coming from the opposite direction. He eventually ran into a tree with the police in hot pursuit and was arrested. An alcohol test showed heavy intoxication.

Local police opened an investigation on suspicion of two counts of endangerment with a motor vehicle. A Ministry of Defence spokesman in London said the military had opened its own probe of the incident.

AFP/Expatica