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A bus company is praising three of its drivers who used their buses to block a car being chased by police.
Christchurch Bus Company's operations manager Greg Barnard said the drivers "have a grin from ear to ear".
He said one driver heard sirens and saw a car
pull out of the pedestrian Cashel Street Mall. The bus driver edged out into the lane to stop the car that was trying to escape police.
Meanwhile, a work mate on Colombo Street saw the car trying to edge around him. The bus driver began swerving to stop the car passing while a third bus driver pulled out of a side street to cut one lane off.
"Three buses were involved but none of them were talking to each other, they didn't have radios," Mr Barnard said.
He said the drivers essentially all thought the others knew what they were doing and decided to help out.
Mr Barnard said there were passengers on the buses at the time who would have had an interesting ride into town that morning.
"The company supports them. They didn't put themselves in danger and they didn't put passengers in danger. They saw an opportunity to do something," Mr Barnard said.
Police watched the chase unfold on crime cameras about 9.40am.
Inspector John Doherty, of the police southern communications centre in Christchurch, said bus drivers became aware of the car being chased and helped police stop the vehicle.
"They've driven through Cashel Mall into Colombo St where they've tried to go inside a bus," he said.
"Another bus came in and the car was hemmed in by the buses.
"It was a job well done."
He was unsure if the pursued car was stolen, but it had failed to stop for a police patrol car, sparking a three-minute chase, with speeds not exceeding 50km/h.
Two women are being spoken to by police in relation to the chase.
They were questioned after the "low-speed pursuit" from Phillipstown suburb into the central city.
A spokesman for the Christchurch police said car drivers were not encouraged to block cars involved in chases.
"A bus is about 10 tonne while a car is one tonne. We wouldn't recommend people putting their cars at risk," he said.
- with NZPA
