I thought for a moment that I had made a great a mistake. I started to shake inside. Everything seemed so quiet, were they waiting for me to make a move? Was I waiting for them to open fire? It seemed a long time until someone stirred. The detective who was still pressed flat against the side of the car asked me very politely if I would give him the gun. He seemed to have changed his tack. From the aggressive, demanding instructions he had given only a few moments ago, he changed. Maybe he had tried to bully me, found it hadn't worked and would now try a different approach. His politeness surprised me for a moment and I found myself agreeing.

It occurred to me that they then might put their guns away which would give me a breathing space to do some very quick thinking. I might even get a chance of escape.

The detective moved to the back of the car. I opened the front passenger window just enough to slip the rifle through, and picked the weapon up. I was suddenly aware that everybody was staring intently. The holiday makers and locals that had gathered were probably hoping for a 'bit of action' to liven up their mundane lives, and the police were waiting for me to make a move that would signal their opening fire and blowing me from the cliffs of Beachy Head to who knows where.

I hesitated for a few seconds as I picked the rifle up, it occurred to me that I was now on my way to prison for a long time. Life had never been a lot of fun, why not go out in a blaze of glory? Hit the headlines!! No more worry, no more running scared, no more looking over my shoulder waiting for the long arm of the law, or the revenge of other villains, that one of these days would catch up with me.

A second thought came into my mind, is this all really worth dying for? It all suddenly seemed so ridiculous, like an american movie. I almost started laughing. I pushed the rifle through the window, shouted a warning to the policeman that it was loaded and closed the window again.

I was lighthearted again now, the danger had passed, the fear had gone, let's have some fun. The police were putting their guns away and taking their protective jackets off, now expecting to just talk me into surrender.

I started the engine with a roar and shot away, tyres throwing up gravel from the surface of the car park, weaving between the parked police cars......the chase was on again.

I don't think they had considered for a moment I might try to escape. They had left enough room to almost get a double decker bus through. Or maybe their day needed brightening up too!!

Now it seemed like a game, and the prize was my freedom. We were off, just like the movies. I had spun the car around in the car park only to see that the car park entrance was sealed off with a police car parked across it. Only one way out, up the embankment.

Before I had been stopped up on Beachy Head the chase had taken place all around and through the town, through the pedestrian precinct, the wrong way down the one-way street outside the police station, up and down the sea-front. Dangerous enough, but now we would go up on to the cliff top. Let's see if they will follow at 40m.p.h. along the edge of the cliff, I thought to my self!!

I left the car park, bumping up the steep grass embankment and drove up onto the cliff. I figured they would bottle out on the cliff-edge, it would be too dangerous and they wouldn't follow.

I looked in the mirror and saw how wrong I was. There were eight police cars and an ambulance chasing after me. It was certainly the most hair raising driving experience I had ever had. The cliff top was covered in pot-holes and craters which made for a very rough ride.

As I approached a crater I realised it was deeper than most and slowed down just in time to slip into it and be able to drive out the other side, the first police car following was not so fortunate. He hit it at speed, went in and never came out, I heard later the chassis had snapped.

The chase went on for a little while. I would stop for a breather and a chance to think, they would try to surround me and off I would go again. Slowly they were depleting their stocks of police cars!! One by one they were falling victim to the craters and rough terrain.

Eventually I was stopped. I had been cornered after playing cat and mouse and having been rammed by two police cars. The officers chasing had thought it a lot of fun, but one inspector had really blown his top. Maybe his car has been wrecked!!