Four youths have been arrested in Ashburton after an aggravated burglary in Christchurch. 

A Mazda Atenza was used to gain entry, by reversing into the shop front window, to a vape store on Colombo Street around 4:30am on Tuesday.

Prevention Manage Inspector Leairne Dow said the occupants of the vehicle took an amount of cash and property from the store, causing damage to the store’s interior.

They fled in that vehicle at about 4.40am, but 30 minutes later the vehicle was seen by police just north of Ashburton.

Ashburton Police placed cordons around the vehicle and the vehicle was stopped without incident. 

The four youths were arrested near a petrol station in Ashburton and taken into custody. 

Evidence of the burglary in Colombo Street was in the vehicle.

The Mazda vehicle was also found to have been stolen from an address earlier in the day.

Inspector Dow said “we are committed to keeping our community safe and we will not tolerate dangerous behaviour on our roads, nor will we tolerate this type of offending.

We acknowledge the concern these incidents cause to business owners and to the wider community and reiterate our commitment to holding these offenders accountable.”

All four are facing a variety of charges.

One appeared on Tuesday in Christchurch Youth Court while the others are being dealt with by Christchurch Police Youth Services.