A Northland woman has received a Christmas Eve visit from three unwise (young) men. Three teenagers have been arrested after a 90-minute car chase which started near Whangarei city and ended in the driveway of a home at Whakapara, 23km northwest of Whangarei. A Whakapara resident was Christmas wrapping fudge when acar with smoke spilling from the bonnet pulled into her driveway. Three young men were in the car. "I was still in my dressing gown ... they asked if they could wait there for friends who were coming from Auckland. Then there were about eight cop cars that pulled up." Police recovered a silver Subaru Legacy which had been reported stolen from Auckland on Tuesday. During the police pursuit, the Subaru driver allegedly crashed the vehicle through locked gates and collided with a police car. Whangarei police Sergeant Paul Nicholas said the chase started after police received a complaint about 7am that petrol had been stolen from the Gull service station on the southern outskirts of Whangarei. Police spotted the car heading north and Kawakawa police were called in to try and stop it. The Subaru was driven through gates at a demolition yard just south of Kawakawa where it was stopped, until police had passed by. The vehicle then headed south again. Police set up spikes near Whakapara but the car then headed down old Russell Rd. Just when police though they had the car stopped the driver allegedly rammed the police car and drove off. The car was driven though another locked gate and then into the driveway of a house. Police had to chase one of the males through a paddock. Two teens aged 15, 16 and a 19-year-old were arrested and face several charges.
