Four Bay of Plenty youths, aged between 12-15, are in police custody following a fleeing driver incident, which started in Hillsborough.

Auckland City West Area Commander, Inspector Alisse Robertson, says Police responded to reports of a stolen vehicle travelling on State Highway 20 around 4.15am.

“Eagle, the Police Air Support Unit, sighted the vehicle travelling south and enquiries soon established the vehicle had been stolen from an address in Rotorua.

“Upon noticing Police, the vehicle has left the area at high speed.”

Police did not pursue, however Eagle continued to monitor the vehicle as it continued travelling southbound. 

Inspector Robertson says Police deployed spikes on the motorway at the Bombay Hills.

“The vehicle exited the motorway at Mercer and eventually came to a stop on McLean Street.”

Three occupants of the vehicle were taken into custody at the scene while a fourth attempted to leave the area on foot.

“They were also located and arrested a short time later,” she says.

The four, aged between 12 and 15 from the Bay of Plenty region, have all since been referred to Youth Aid.

Inspector Robertson says while this is a great result for Police, it has been another night of the same concerns.

“Once again, we are very lucky no one was injured during this incident.

“At times, the vehicle was observed to be reaching almost twice the posted speed limit, which is just putting lives at risk.

“For those who choose to engage in this type of behaviour, our message is clear: Police will continue to make arrests and hold those offenders to account.”