Man faces charges after axe attack, police chase

A man is expected to be charged today after an axe attack in the isolated South Island town of Bealey yesterday left an elderly man in hospital.

A lone police constable came across the incident in the town, about 12km from Arthur's Pass, about 6.30pm when he was travelling back to Christchurch from Greymouth from a court hearing.

The victim had suffered gashes to his head and back and the alleged offender sped away in a vehicle, pursued by the constable who also called for backup.

Senior Sergeant Stu Munro of Hornby last night said the pursuit had reached speeds of up to 140km/h and the man was believed to have pointed a weapon at the chasing police car.

The constable believed the weapon was a firearm and the armed offenders squad was called out as police considered there was a serious risk to the public.

The chase ended when road spikes were deployed near Paparua Prison and the offender stopped and was taken into custody.

The police car also ran over the spikes after the chase, which lasted about 100km.

A Christchurch police spokesman said today said the arrested man had been held in custody overnight and was expected to be charged and appear in court later today.

The victim was described as having moderate injuries and was taken to Christchurch Hospital, Mr Munro said.

Road workers last night described how they had helped the victim when he emerged bleeding from the bush.

Road worker Gabriel Kanara said he was working with a crew on a bridge at Bealey about 6.15pm when the man appeared.

"We panicked, but we put him in a vehicle and tried to stop the blood... you usually only see that sort of stuff on TV."

The victim was panicking and scared and had a bad wound on his head, Mr Kanara said.

Shortly afterwards a car sped past, followed by another car, which turned out to be the pursuing constable in an unmarked police car.

The man was taken into police custody at the scene and a long-handled axe was taken from the car.

The car was registered to a Westport address.

- NZPA