A 48-year old joyrider tried to pass herself off as Beyoncé Knowles after being apprehended by police, it is claimed.

Surena Henry, of Las Cruces, New Mexico, gave the false identity after law enforcement officers found her behind the wheel of a car that had been reported stolen on Saturday morning.

Court documents submitted following her arrest state officers had originally attempted to make a traffic stop before giving chase after Henry refused their order to pull over.

Henry was eventually apprehended after parking outside her own home and exiting the vehicle at around 7am, but refused to give arresting officers her real name.

Instead, she claimed to be Destiny’s Child star Beyoncé, 38 – despite bearing no similarity to the iconic singer.

According to police reports Henry was promptly arrested and booked into Doña Ana County’ detention centre, where fingerprint technology was used to identify her.

She has been charged with one count of the unlawful taking of a motor vehicle, one count of concealing identity and resisting or obstructing an arrest.

Henry has admitted to finding the car with the keys still in its ignition. When asked why she chose to ignore the traffic stop, the woman told officers she didn’t feel like pulling over.

It’s understood that at the time of her arrest, Henry already had a municipal bench warrant issued for failing to appear in court.