Teens held after car shoved in ditch

Four teenagers face charges after a car was stolen and pushed into a steep ditch.

The incident sparked a police search along a main highway yesterday afternoon.

A 17-year-old male will appear in Hastings District Court and two males and a female aged under 17 in Hastings Youth Court on Friday facing charges in relation to the stolen vehicle.

A group were spotted on Railway Rd South, near the Longlands Rd intersection, by a member of the public who recognised the vehicle that was stolen from a Hastings address on Saturday, said Hastings police Senior Sergeant Ross Smith.

"The motor vehicle was stolen from a Hastings address and a member of the public alerted us to the fact that it was out there and they were trying to push it into the ditch," he said. "As a result of that member of the public we managed to get the four people who got out of the vehicle and were walking towards Hastings."

About six police cars, a dog handler and tow truck were dealing with the group on the 100km/h stretch of road near Hawthorne House, about 3.30pm yesterday.

"We needed to make sure that we cordoned off the area, we didn't want them running off and we needed a few vehicles to transport them back," Mr Smith said.

It was still unclear why the car was pushed into the ditch.