Man choked by passenger while driving

Police are appealing for a member of the public who came to the rescue of a motorist being choked by passenger as he drove through Whangarei last night.

The 29 year-old victim was sitting in his parked vehicle outside the shops on Kamo Road, opposite Keyte Street in Whangarei when he was approached by two men asking for a ride home.

The victim agreed but once he started driving, the two men became aggressive and punched him.

One of the men, who was sitting in the rear seat, placed a choke-hold around the victim's neck as he drove.

The victim complied with the directions, which took them around the Avenues area of Whangarei, including along Central Avenue and was told to turn right into Second Avenue.

Prior to turning into Second Avenue, the victim flashed his headlights and tooted his horn to gain the attention of a vehicle driving in the opposite direction.

The other vehicle was described as a 4x4 ute with an open back, possibly blue.

The victim then pulled to the left on Second Avenue to try and stop and the driver of the ute followed and drove past the victim's vehicle and stopped, at this point the two males got out of the vehicle while the ute driver helped the victim.

Police want to speak with the man who helped out while the two men involved in the assault have not been found.

Police said the victim did not suffer any physical injuries.

The two males are described as:

Male one: Blonde hair - long on the top; clean shaven and skinny and shorter than 1.62m. He is believed to be Maori aged between 25 and 30. He wore a white T-shirt under a dark coloured T-shirt.

Male two: Dark haired aged between 25 and 30. He is described as having a large build with a big, round face and a tattoo design on the left side of his neck that appeared to go down his arm. He was taller than the other offender but still less than 1.62m. He was believed to be Maori, had an unshaven face and was wearing a light grey hoodie.