Police are hunting three youths after a vehicle linked to an aggravated robbery was driven towards pedestrians in Christchurch on Saturday evening, hitting a person.

Two youths have been taken into custody and will go through the youth justice process, Senior Sergeant Hamish Keer-Keer told Chris Lynch Media.

It began about 4.30pm, when police were called to Earnslaw Crescent in Bryndwr after two youths allegedly assaulted a person and stole personal items before fleeing in a vehicle.

The victim was not injured, Keer-Keer said.

About an hour later, police began receiving multiple calls about dangerous and erratic driving by a vehicle matching the description of the one used in the robbery.

The driver crashed into several parked cars Westfield mall on Rotherham Street in Riccarton, but the occupants had left by the time officers arrived.

While officers made enquiries in the area, they were told the vehicle had been driven towards people on Cavendish Road, where one person was hit and received minor injuries.

More calls from the public helped police track the vehicle, and officers found it abandoned on Liverton Crescent about 7pm.

The two youths now in custody were found nearby.

A police dog unit tracked down discarded items matching some of the property taken in the robbery, and these have since been returned to the victim.

CCTV footage from a nearby address later confirmed the pair had got out of the vehicle with three others and fled on foot.

Keer-Keer thanked members of the public who called police, saying the information helped officers keep up with the vehicle’s constantly changing movements.

He also thanked Liverton Crescent residents who let officers look at their security footage.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 105, online or by phone, quoting file number 261101/6904.

Information can also be given anonymously through Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.