112km police chase ends with road spikes and a traffic jam

A 112km police chase ended when road spikes were used and the offending vehicle got stuck in traffic on a bridge in Gore.

Police have confirmed two people, a male and a female, were arrested after dramatic footage of their arrests was shared widely on social media.

Police said they responded to a report of dangerous driving on State Highway 1 near Waihola, south of Dunedin at around 6am on Wednesday.

A police spokesperson said officers followed the vehicle for a time but the pursuit was abandoned because of safety concerns.

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They continued to follow the car from a distance and set up spikes on the State Highway 1 bridge across the Mataura River at Gore.

The vehicle was spiked, and the driver was taken into custody at about 8:50am, police said.

Both offenders appeared in the Invercargill District Court on Wednesday.

A 27-year-old male will reappear in the Invercargill District Court on March 27 on driving related charges and receiving stolen property over $1000.

A 31-year-old female will reappear in the Invercargill District Court on April 4, 2023.

Video of the arrest shows the black car, believed to be a Mitsubishi Galant, driving down the middle of the bridge towards Gore before it swerved back in behind a car that was giving way at a roundabout.

In the video the motorist tries to drive over a garden plot on the left-hand side of the vehicle to get around the car in front of them but becomes stuck.

Police can be seen running across the road and pulling the driver from the vehicle, as other officers run from police cars that were following and pull the passenger out.

Both were led away to waiting police cars.