Police chased a 12-year-old boy driving a stolen telehandler through the streets of Ann Arbor, Michigan, for an hour last week.

The boy stole the equipment, a Genie GTH-636 Telehandler equipped with a forklift, from Forsyth Middle School in the evening of 25 November, Ann Arbor police said in a statement.

The telehandler had been left unlocked with the keys in the cab.

Multiple officers chased the vehicle, which was driving without lights at speeds of 15 mph to 20 mph (25 km/hr – 32 km/hr).

According to a Sky News report, the telehandler crashed into at least 10 parked cars during the chase.

The driver was eventually taken into custody and later transferred to a juvenile detention centre.

Police said no one was injured in the incident.

“This was a very dangerous situation that could’ve easily ended with serious injuries,” the police statement said. “The incident remains an active and ongoing criminal investigation.”