An illegal road race apparently staged by eight British BMW drivers on an autobahn has been halted by German police.

One car and its driver were seized, but police are still hunting the seven others who got away after officers stopped the race on the A61 near Moenchengladbach, near Duesseldorf.

Images of the seized car show it has an M-spec tuning badge making it a fast road car.

Its unnamed 30-year-old driver, whose licence was confiscated, was held by police under suspicion of illegal road racing.

The M-spec BMW and all the other cars involved had British registration plates.

Although most autobahns have no upper-speed limits, organised racing is against the law.

Police caught up with the BMW drivers on 23rd September after other terrified motorway users called the emergency services to report the race taking place.

They told how the BMW cars frequently stopped dead in the motorway to form a start line before roaring off again.

Newsflash obtained a statement from Dusseldorf police on 24th September, saying: “Road users made an emergency call on Saturday afternoon to report several cars on the A61 in the direction of Koblenz that were obviously racing in a prohibited race.

“The witnesses described how the vehicles stopped traffic several times and then accelerated sharply again.

“As part of the search, operational teams from the Mönchengladbach motorway police station were able to identify eight suspicious cars, each of which was a BMW with license plates from Great Britain.

“One of the lead vehicles of these BMWs was stopped and checked.

“The driver was a 30-year-old British man and his two passengers, two British citizens aged 26 and 37.

“The 30-year-old’s BMW was seized at the scene. The man’s driving licence was also confiscated and a criminal complaint was filed.

“Video recordings of the vehicle occupants were also secured. To secure the process, the 30-year-old had to pay a security deposit.

“The police are looking for other witnesses who also made similar observations on the A61 on Saturday afternoon.”

The investigation is ongoing.