THIS is the moment a stolen van narrowly avoids a dog walker as it races around an Andover park.

Recorded last night, the clip shows the white vehicle driving off-road and hitting a bank of soil.

The incident happened at around 7pm near Roman Way.

Hampshire Police said it is investigating reports of a fight between a group of men outside Tesco Express shortly before the vehicle was stolen.

A mother, who was in the park at the time, told the Advertiser: "It was just after 7 o’clock last night and it happened on the grass in front of the play park on Roman Way.

"At the time I was more angry than anything that he could be that disrespectful to do something like that next to a children’s play park.

"Now it's the 'what ifs' that are going through my head.

"What if he hadn’t managed to control it? It would have ended very differently."

The concerned parent said it took the police around 20 minutes to arrive. 

"I had to call them twice for anyone to come out and they didn't seem that interested about the driver on the field," she said.  

The shocking clip has been shared to community site Spotted: Andover.

It begins by showing the car coming off-road and travelling on the grass at speed.

The van swerves a woman who is walking her dog before crashing into a barrier of soil.

A woman can be heard on camera ushering the dog walker into the park to safety as the vehicle speeds off. 

The vehicle has now been returned to its owner, this newspaper was told.