Hostage man remains in hospital

A 28-year-old man remains in hospital today following a hostage drama north of Auckland.

The man from the west Auckland suburb of Avondale is due to face a number of charges after a woman was held hostage for three hours in a car north of Auckland today.

Police spokeswoman Noreen Hegarty said the man was taken to Waitakere Hospital following his arrest yesterday, and remained there today.

She said the man's hospitalisation was not due to any injuries suffered during the police operation to arrest him.

"He is in for observation due to substances he has ingested in the period prior to his arrest," Ms Hegarty said.

She expected he would appear in Waitakere District Court tomorrow facing charges which included firearms and kidnapping charges.

The arrest followed a hostage ordeal which began when a man brandished a revolver during a low-speed police pursuit on Lincoln Road, Henderson about midday.

He came to a stop about 8km away at the bottom of Brigham Creek Hill off State Highway 16, near Whenuapai. Ms Hegarty said the area was cordoned off at 12.30pm and the armed offenders squad (AOS) arrived 30 minutes later.

The ordeal continued until about 3pm when the AOS managed to distract him and disarm him using a police dog.

Ms Hegarty said the AOS used a distraction device like a thunderflash to detain the man.

She said no live rounds were fired during the incident and the woman was unharmed.

Police had believed an infant was also being held in the car, but this proved incorrect.

- NZPA