Police in Christchurch have been trying to apprehend a fleeing driver this morning.

A car linked to the chase was dumped at BP Moorhouse.

Witnesses said the driver then stole another car and fleed again from BP.

“It was like watching a game of Grand Theft Auto. Speeding down wrong side of Moorhouse and then swapping cars at BP and speeding away. Crazy to watch” a witness said.

Earlier a motorist told Chris Lynch Media he saw a vehicle driving along Memorial Avenue being chased by two police cars.

The police cars tried to ram the offending car off the road, which was a silver Subaru.

“The passenger’s side door was dangling off.

The driver then rammed the two police cars before speeding off again, swerving through multiple side streets trying to evade them.”

The eyewitness said “this is likely going to end badly. Roads are very busy with traffic this morning. The driver is desperate to get away. I do hope no one is seriously hurt.

Another motorist said they saw police putting down road spikes on the corner of Grahams Road and Memorial Avenue.

Another motorist said the car “jumped the lights, in front of us Ferry Road. Just before 9am. Saw a young man in the back looking at us.”

A local helicopter was helping ground staff during the operation.