There was an apparent trail of chaos leading from Invercargill to Balclutha and back again between Saturday and yesterday.
A white Subaru station wagon, stolen in Invercargill, that crashed in Balclutha on Saturday about 2.30am could be linked to a series of car thefts in the South Otago town, police said.
Three cars were stolen in Balclutha either late Sunday or early yesterday, but only an orange Ford Falcon station wagon (ALK831) remained unaccounted for, Detective Constable Robin Hutton said.
A Toyota Starlet stolen from Newarp St was found abandoned and burned in Clinton after expensive car stereo equipment had been removed from the car.
A gold Nissan Regulus, stolen from Hospital Rd, had been crashed in Invercargill.
Police believe the driver of the Subaru station wagon was responsible for ''numerous road advisory signs being seriously damaged'' on State Highway 1 from Moffat Rd, south of Balclutha, through towards town, Taieri-Clutha area response manager Senior Sergeant Alastair Dickie said.
The Subaru, carrying at least four people, was believed to have been driven around Balclutha for some time before it crashed on Saturday morning.
When police arrived at the crash in Essex St, the station wagon was found on its side, the driver having lost control after hitting kerbing.
There was blood at the scene of the abandoned vehicle, Snr Sgt Dickie said.
Earlier, a Balclutha man was allegedly threatened in Cromer St by occupants of the Subaru station wagon.
After the crash, members of the same group allegedly approached the occupants of another vehicle seeking fuel.
At 2.30am yesterday, the Clinton Volunteer Fire Brigade was called to Clifford St, where the Starlet was ''well ablaze'', Det Const Hutton said.
Police believe there were multiple vehicles in the area when the fire was started.
At the weekend a chainsaw was also taken from Hospital Rd.
Det Const Hutton said the rash of ''mayhem'' was very unusual for the Clutha district.
''That's a rarity in Balclutha,'' he said.
''We live in a very, very safe environment.''
