Man reported car stolen after crashing into house - police

A Dunedin man who crashed his car into a house allegedly tried to fool police by calling 111 to report it stolen.

Senior Sergeant Anthony Bond, of Dunedin, said police were called to Neill St, in Abbotsford, at 3.55am on Saturday.

A 22-year-old man was driving in a dangerous manner, doing skids and trying to lose traction around the corners of the street, Snr Sgt Bond alleged.

The driver, with a 20-year-old woman in the car, "lost control and crashed into a house" in the street.

The pair then ran home, where the man allegedly called 111 to report his vehicle had been stolen.  

But a canine unit attended the crash scene and tracked the man back to his home address, Snr Sgt Bond said.

The man also recorded a breath alcohol content of 509mcg, more than twice the legal limit of 250mcg.  

He was arrested and charged with drink driving, "obstructing, perverting, defeating the course of justice" — by calling 111 to say the car was stolen when he was the driver — and dangerous driving, Snr Sgt Bond said.

The man appeared in the Dunedin District Court on Saturday.

tim.scott@odt.co.nz