Man charged with Armidale police pursuit before crashing onto footpath and fleeing

Police were patrolling in Armidale late at night when they spotted a grey Hyundai wagon parked on the western kerb with its headlights on.

Officers allege the car had earlier been reported stolen.

Highway patrol police approached the rear of the wagon just before midnight on December 27 but allege it took off.

Police gave chase and pursued the car through the streets of Armidale for about eight minutes.

The man is accused of reaching speeds of up to 125km per hour on the suburban streets, which all had a signposted speed limit of 50km per hour.

Police said he turned into Dangar Street, which is in the city's CBD, and sped through a stop sign at about 40km per hour.

When the driver spotted police on Odell Street he tried to take a left but lost control and crashed onto the footpath.

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There were no pedestrians in the area at the time and no one was injured.

Police allege the man, seen wearing black tracksuit pants and a black hoodie, then fled from the wagon.

Officers combed the area and found the man allegedly hiding in a dog cage in the front yard of an Armidale home.

He is accused of having gloves and a balaclava in his possession at that time, as well as a small amount of cannabis in the pocket of his tracksuit pants.

Police checks allegedly revealed the man held a Learner's licence but was not being supervised at the time and did not have L-plates on the vehicle.

The arrest came during a police operation targeting road rule breakers over the Christmas and New Year holiday period.

Highway patrol police interacted with thousands of drivers across the Oxley and New England districts, and hundreds of offences were detected.

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