Three Nelson youths arrested after crime spree

Three youths are in custody after fleeing from Police in a stolen vehicle this morning.

The youths are believed to have then stolen a red Toyota Hilux ute from a property in Hoddy Road, Appleby.

Police located the youths driving the Hilux vehicle south near Kawatiri about 9am. They failed to stop for Police and a pursuit ensued.

Police laid road spikes between Owen River and Murchison and two of the fleeing vehicle's tyres were deflated. The driver continued on at low speed without tyres, turning up the no exit Matiri Valley.

About 9.30am the trio abandoned their vehicle in the Matiri West Bank Rd. One of the youths was apprehended immediately and the other two were located by a Police dog up a tree a short time later.

Police believe the incident is connected to an incident in Motueka about 7.15am today when a petrol theft was reported from Caltex Motueka.

The vehicle involved was a Mitsubishi Chariot which had been reported stolen from a Nelson address.

That vehicle was spotted on State Highway 60, near Mapua, a short time after the petrol drive-off but failed to stop for Police and a pursuit was initiated. The vehicle reached speeds up to 150kmh at which point Police abandoned the pursuit.

The vehicle was located a short time later in Hoddy Road, Appleby, where it had crashed through a fence.

Nelson Bays Area Commander Inspector Steve Greally commended his staff on they way they handled both pursuits.

"Staff made the right decision in abandoning the first pursuit, given the speed and manner of driving involved.

"The second pursuit, while long, never reached excessive speed and the majority of that pursuit was conducted at less that 60kmh. We now have three young people before the courts and nobody has been injured in the process. We all know pursuits can be dangerous but these events were both well managed and achieved the desired result," Inspector Greally said.

Two 16 year-old boys and a 14 year-old boy have been jointly charged with: two counts of unlawfully taking a vehicle; theft of petrol and three counts of theft from a car.

One of the 16 year-old boys has also been charged with drink driving and a range of other driving offences relating to the pursuit.

They have been remanded in custody to appear in the Nelson Youth Court. Police have said they will oppose bail for all three.