A stolen vehicle lead police on a lengthy chase around the Bay of Plenty this morning.
The Baytrust Rescue Helicopter helped police by observing the
vehicle, after the pursuit was abandoned due to the dangerous nature of the
offender's driving.
It had travelled from Rotorua, towards Paengaroa, then into Whakatane before heading through Edgecumbe and back towards Rotorua.
The vehicle, containing one man, ran over road spikes at Lake Rotoma on State
Highway 30 and was then observed by the helicopter attempting to hide down a
driveway.
As a police unit approached the area to look for the offender the
stolen vehicle left the driveway and rolled as it attempted to turn back onto
the Highway.