"Two men arrested following fleeing driver incidents across Southland"

Feb 16
Statement attributable to Constable Wayne McClelland

Two Canterbury men have been arrested in Riverton this afternoon following a series of car thefts and petrol drive offs between Christchurch and Invercargill.

The two offenders are alleged to have stolen a vehicle in Wigram Christchurch on 14 February.

They have then been involved in a number of petrol drive offs on their travels to Invercargill.

Police attempted to stop the vehicle in Invercargill shortly after 8pm however the driver failed to stop and while Police followed for a short time this was quickly abandoned due to the erratic driving of the fleeing driver.

The vehicle the two offenders were fleeing in was recovered a short time later however the offenders had fled on foot.

At around 1.30pm this afternoon a stolen vehicle was spotted by Police travelling north near Mataura.

Police believed the two people in the vehicle were the same men that had fled the previous night.

Police again followed the vehicle for a time before abandoning due to the nature of the driving.

Observations on the vehicle were lost however an off duty fire officer has noticed the vehicle and shared the location allowing Police to find the vehicle again south on Winton.

After being located by Police the driver has fled once again.

The fleeing vehicle was seen again, this time in the Wallacetown area, Police followed the vehicle again at a safe distance and despite trying to get away the vehicle was stopped trying to leave Riverton.

The two men, one aged 17 and the other 18, have been arrested and will be appearing in Invercargill District Court on Monday facing a number of theft and driving charges.

ENDS

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