A terrified teenage driver and his girlfriend were ordered out of their Seat Ibiza at gunpoint by masked men, sparking a police chase across Birmingham yesterday.

Two suspected robbers were yesterday being quizzed by detectives over the carjacking in Pype Hayes.

The armed robbers raced off in the car – but were tailed by motorway police and the force helicopter. Armed officers swooped to arrest two men in Winson Green shortly after 1am. They were being questioned by detectives from Sutton Coldfield CID.

The drama began shortly before midnight on Tuesday when the victim and his girlfriend, both aged 18, were sitting in the Seat in Chester Road on the border between Sutton Coldfield and Erdington.

Police said the offenders, their faces covered with masks, approached the car and ordered the pair out. One of the men hit the teenager over the head with a metal bar.

The other robber had a gun but no shots were fired and the driver suffered only minor injuries in the incident, a West Midlands Police spokesman said.

The pair then fled in the car and headed towards the M6, where they were followed by officers from the Central Motorway Police Group and the force’s helicopter. Firearms officers joined the operation on the ground and, assisted by the helicopter team, arrested two men.

Footage from the Central Counties Air Operations Unit helicopter’s on-board video cameras was being examined today.

Det Sgt James Hill, of Sutton Coldfield robbery team, said: “This was a nasty incident which was brought to a swift and safe conclusion by officers. The support from West Midlands Police officers in the air and armed response teams on the ground meant two people were arrested and brought into custody where they remain.”

The arrests were among the first significant ones involving the new Central Counties helicopter which is providing air cover for the region following the arson attack at Elmdon airbase, near Sheldon, last month which destroyed the force’s £4 million Eurocopter. Police urged motorists not to fight off car-jackers amid fears innocent people could be embroiled in violent confrontations.