A Christchurch man has been arrested after allegedly attempting to rob a dairy this morning.
The 24-year-old man entered the shop on Opawa Rd in Waltham about 8am shortly after it opened, police said in a statement.
He then allegedly tried to take a number of items but the dairy owner intervened and the man left the shop and fled in a vehicle.
Police set up cordons in the area and found the man and the vehicle on Tunnel Rd, where he was arrested.
Two firearms and a hatchet were found in the vehicle.
The man is to appear in Christchurch District Court on Monday charged with two counts of assault with intent to rob, two of unlawful possession of a firearm and one of possession of a restricted weapon.