Police are hunting the driver of a van which careered onto a golf course and critically injured a woman while being pursued by officers. 

Paramedics were called at 10.26am to reports a pedestrian had been badly hurt after being run down at Aston Wood Golf Club, north of Birmingham.

She was taken by air ambulance to the city’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital where she is said to be receiving treatment for life-changing injuries.

The police watchdog – which is independently investigating the incident – said two police patrol cars began following the Nissan van at around 10.15am in Kingstanding, Birmingham. 

‘We understand the police cars stopped following the van after it came off the road and went up an embankment onto the golf course where the van collided with a woman,’ a spokesman for the the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said.

‘Officers followed a short time later, on foot, and gave first aid to the woman who was then taken to hospital for treatment for life changing injuries.’

Staffordshire Police said the van driver and two passengers were now at large after leaping out of the vehicle and escaping the scene.

In dashcam footage obtained by MailOnline, a van is seen speeding past a car on a roundabout while being chased by a police car.

Then, separate CCTV footage shows the moment the van left the A4026 between Sutton Coldfield and Shenstone, before careering up a bank to the side of the entrance road.

Two police cars appeared to be in pursuit, with an officer seen jumping out of their vehicle and giving chase on foot over a grassy bank. 

The chase was carried out by West Midlands Police officers, but the investigation is now being handled by Staffordshire Police.

West Midlands Police officers were said to have first begun the pursuit following ‘reports of suspicious activity’. 

Specialist officers are supporting the woman’s family. The IOPC was informed in line with standard procedure given the woman was injured during a police chase. 

Staffordshire Police said it was keen to speak to anyone who was travelling in the area with any information or dashcam footage that could help the investigation. 

The golf course was hosting a wake shortly after the crash at lunchtime. 

One of the mourners, Liam Brannigan said: ‘They allowed the wake to carry on even though the course had been closed because of what had happened.

‘I was told that a woman was walking on the course and got hit by a van. I was told it went right over her. The van then crashed.’

Local reports suggested a crashed van could be seen in a ditch near the first hole of the golf course.

West Midlands Ambulance Service said it deployed two ambulances, two paramedic officers, a trauma doctor, critical care paramedic and an air ambulance to the scene.

A spokesman said: ‘Upon arrival we found a woman who was the pedestrian with life-threatening injuries in a critical condition.

‘Ambulance staff quickly began administering advanced life support and advanced trauma care to her at the scene which continued en route to Queen Elizabeth Hospital where she was conveyed via air ambulance for further treatment.

‘No further patients required treatment.’

Tom, a butcher at nearby Pat’s Butchers, told Metro: ‘We saw all the commotion.

‘A black van came racing through our car park then went up Clarence Road, he managed to turn himself around and shot up Rosemary Hill Road.

‘He spun around on one of the back streets and then went down to the golf course.

‘Good job no one was in our car park or they would have been mowed down.’

One woman, who was waiting Blake Street train station at around 10.30am, said she heard someone shouting for ‘help’ from the golf club.

Another local shop worker told Metro: ‘All we saw was the police cars, ambulances and unmarked cars whizzing around the area.

‘You can hear the police helicopter but police presence on the road had all gone within an hour.’

Aston Wood Golf Course is an 18-hole championship course, which claims to be ‘one of the finest golf courses in the Midlands’