Four young people were arrested after an alleged burglarly in Te Awamutu in the early hours of Friday morning

Their vehicle was spotted several hours later near Rotorua, and when approached by Police fled the scene.

It was eventually spiked on State Highway One towards Tirau on a bridge, where the four occupants tried to run away.

The group ran towards two vehicles stopped in long weekend traffic and allegedly attempted to take a member of the public's vehicle containing a young family.

One of the offenders then jumped over the side of the bridge to escape.

All four were taken into custody, including the fourth who was tracked down with Police dogs on the riverbank.