19 cars damaged: Man arrested after trail of destruction

A 47-year-old man has since been arrested and charged with intentional damage and operating a vehicle with sustained loss of traction.

A man has appeared in court after allegedly crashing his vehicle into 19 cars in Christchurch overnight.

Police were called to an incident, about 12.30am, after a report from a member of the public that their vehicle had been damaged.

It is understood authorities started to get several reports from people in the area reporting their cars had been crashed into.

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"Upon conducting further inquiries, police established a person has been responsible for allegedly crashing into this car and 18 other cars in central Christchurch,'' a police spokeswoman said.

James Patrick Malone, 47, was arrested and appeared in the Christchurch District Court this morning.

He faces 21 charges - including 19 intentionally damaging vehicles and two charges of sustained loss of traction relating to incidents in Stanmore Rd and Bishop Street early today.

Malone was remanded in custody to appear in court again on September 16.