A man is in custody following a carjacking and police pursuit early this morning.

A police spokeswoman told Chris Lynch at around 6.30am police observed a vehicle driven dangerously on Harewood Road and signalled it to stop.

The vehicle was believed to have been stolen at a location on Moorehouse Avenue earlier.

She said the vehicle failed to stop and fled.

Police followed it briefly before it was abandoned due to the manner of driving.

The vehicle was later located near Queen Elizabeth 11 Drive and was followed towards Northcote before it crashed.

The offender then got out of the vehicle and stopped a second vehicle and forced the motorist out before getting in. There were no reports of any injuries.

While in the second stolen vehicle the offender rammed into an unmarked Police vehicle that tried to prevent the unlawful taking before fleeing.

The second stolen vehicle was later spiked near Main North Queen Elizabeth 11 Drive before it crashed on Sawyers Arms Road shortly after.

The offender attempted to flee on foot but was taken into custody immediately.

A 29-year-old is due to appear in Christchurch District Court next week charged with breaching bail, unlawful taking of vehicles and various driving offences.