A Russian man believed to be drunk has been detained after stealing an armoured personnel carrier and smashing it into a supermarket.

The man stole the tank-like vehicle on caterpillar tracks from a military driving school in the far northern Murmansk region, RIA Novosti news agency cited a traffic police spokeswoman as saying.

The joyrider drove the armoured vehicle through his small town of Apatity where he badly damaged a parked car and then careered through the front of the supermarket.

The man, believed to be drunk, climbed out of the hatch and walked into the aisles before being detained, the police spokeswoman said.

Local news website Hibiny.com reported that the man also attempted to steal a bottle of wine after the early-morning incident.

It posted a photograph of the snow-covered vehicle smashed through glass panels at the front of the store.