Meeting between estranged lovers ends in bloodshed

When estranged lovers met to smooth over their rocky relationship, they probably didn't envision their evening ending with the man smashed in the face with a wine glass and the woman in custody.

An attempt to reconcile a "short, volatile relationship" on the shores of Hamilton's Lake Rotoroa last night did not go well, Senior Sergeant Gill Meadows said.

As the man was driving the woman home, she smashed him in the face with one of two wine glasses she was holding.

The man tried to place the woman "in some sort of lock" and sped to Hamilton central police station, Ms Meadows said.

After his car mounted the footpath and came to a "screeching halt" centimetres from bollards outside the station's front doors, the man blasted his horn to attract attention.

Police officers rushed outside to investigate, not knowing what to expect.

"What we encountered certainly wasn't one of the scenarios we'd been thinking of," Ms Meadows said.

"If you were watching a B-grade sitcom this would no doubt have appeared quite humorous, however domestic violence is not funny and the situation could have ended far worse than it did."

A woman in her 50s was in custody overnight, charged with assault with a weapon. She was likely to be bailed today.

- NZPA