Fall from Napier hotel window ends fugitive's bid for freedom

The Criterion Hotel building from which a man fell on Thursday evening while fleeing police. Photo/File

A wanted man received minor injuries in a Thursday night fall from the upper floor of an iconic Napier hotel building while being chased by police in the city's CBD.

Police confirmed the incident happened as police swooped on the Criterion Art Deco Backpackers, looking for a guest wanted for breaching court release conditions.

He was taken to Hawke's Bay Hospital and appeared in court today. Police said they were attempting to arrest the man when he "decamped on foot" and added: "This resulted in him falling."

While the backpackers accommodation has now been the upstairs feature of the two-storey building for more than 20 years, there has been no bar or restaurant since the sudden closure more than six years ago of a popular bar and grill which had reshaped Napier's inner-city night life after a fire gutted the building in 1991.

Refurbishment aimed at reopening the bar and restaurant services is currently taking place.

It features a balcony which was a feature of 1960s Hawke's Bay lifestyle as rugby heroes in Hawke's Bay's three-year Ranfurly Shield overlooked the regular Saturday morning parades before heading off to the park for the matches.