Stolen car spotted at two Canterbury crime scenes overnight

Sunday, 12 July 2026

Police say the same stolen car was at the scene of two Christchurch suspicious incidents in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Police investigating burglaries and suspicious incidents overnight Saturday into Sunday have linked a stolen vehicle to two separate scenes in Canterbury.

Two cars were driven away from Lady Isaac Drive in Rolleston in the early hours of Sunday morning after police arrived to look into reports of someone trying to break into a van.

Both vehicles “were subsequently confirmed to be stolen cars,” Senior Sergeant Hamish Keer-Keer said.

About 45 minutes after the Rolleston incident, one of those cars was set on fire on Branston St in Hornby, Christchurch.

At 4am there was a burglary at a bar on Withells St in Avonhead, with one of the stolen cars previously spotted on Lady Isaac Drive earlier in the night seen leaving the area immediately afterwards.

Also overnight another burglary was reported at a commercial property on Halswell Junctions Rd in Christchurch. At this stage police have not confirmed a link to the offenders from the other incidents.

Keer-Kerr said there were no car pursuits in relation to the incidents and officers were trying to identify and find those involved.