A drug dealer was arrested when cops pulled him over for dangerous driving after a short chase through Plaistow last night.

Officers from the Met’s Violent Crime Taskforce spotted the car driving "erratically, at speed" on the High Street, shortly before 9pm.

The vehicle was known to police for refusing to stop and getting away on previous occasions and was eventually stopped at Northern Road.

The driver, aged 26, repeatedly refused to get out of the car, which had a strong smell of cannabis, and officers removed the keys from the ignition to stop him driving off again.

The suspect, who was unsteady on his feet, was detained but then attempted to run away before being quickly detained and handcuffed.

A large bag of cannabis was found under the driver's seat of the car.

The driver was arrested at the scene on suspicion of possession with intent to supply cannabis, a Class B drug.

He was then further arrested on suspicion of driving while over the prescribed limit for drugs and alcohol and was taken to an east London police station.

Police discovered more cannabis and Class A drugs, as well as £28,000 in cash and various drug supply paraphernalia at his home address.

The man was further arrested for being suspected of supplying Class A drugs.

Inspector Tony McGovern, of the Met’s violent crime taskforce, said: “The use and supply of drugs brings misery to local communities, while the danger posed to the public and police by those driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol quite simply cannot, and will not, be tolerated.

“Due to this arrest, a significant amount of Class A and B drugs will now not be sold on the streets of east London and a dangerous driver has been taken off the road.”

The man remains in police custody on Tuesday afternoon.

If you want to report drug crimes anonymously but don't want to speak to police, contact the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or visit fearless.org to pass on information, without any way of your call or IP address being traced.