A woman heard screams of "pure terror" as she watched two alleged home intruders caught by police dogs after a high speed car chase.



Three men and a woman entered the property at Springston, south of Christchurch, about 1.30am on Sunday. The foursome were armed and held five or six adults at the house captive.



One victim was able to contact police unbeknown to the intruders.

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Officers arrived at the scene as the offenders were leaving in their vehicle and one stolen from the property. They fled in different directions. Police pursued both.



One chase ended in Rolleston, where Monique Kharkrang was looking after her sick son at about 2.15am.

"We heard police cars, dogs, sirens everything from behind our back fence," she said.

STACY SQUIRES/FAIRFAX NZ The property near Springston where four armed intruders are alleged to have held the occupants captive before fleeing police in a high speed car chase.

Police cornered two of the offenders in a dead-end street in the new Stonebrook subdivision, she said, before the pair fled on foot.

"Obviously [one offender] was running, because the policeman yelled, clear as day, shouted at the top of his lungs, "Don't f…… move. Get f……down. Stay down.

"He obviously moved because the dogs were released and we could hear them barking. And then we heard, oh my God, the scream. Obviously the dog had got him and he was screaming, 'F…… get him off me.' I actually felt sorry for him. He was screaming at the top of his lungs."

SARAH MARSHALL A police scene guard in Ropley St, Amberley, where a man was held at gunpoint.

Two men were caught by dogs at the scene, Kharkrang said. Police remained in the neighbourhood, patrolling with a spotlight, for more than an hour.

Seconds before the confrontation had started another car, which Kharkrang believed to be the second getaway vehicle, had driven "flat tack" up Dunns Crossing Rd toward State Highway 1.

The two other intruders were caught near Dunsandel, police said.

Detective Sergeant Mike Freeman said the offenders were known to one person who lived at the Springston property. He declined to comment on the connection or if any victims or offenders were known to police.

"The main thing is to assure the public the offenders are in custody and a good job [was done] by police."

The Christchurch metro crime squad was investigating the incident. Early inquiries would focus on the Springston property and speaking to the victims, Freeman said. Police and forensics staff were at the scene on Sunday afternoon.

Interviews with the alleged offenders and a forensic examination of the two vehicles involved would follow.

One of the occupants of the Springston property received minor injuries but did not need medical treatment.

Four people will appear in the Christchurch District Court on Monday facing a variety of charges.

Police are not looking for anyone else over the Springston incident.

VICTIM HELD AT GUNPOINT IN SECOND ATTACK

Another home invasion happened soon after the Springston incident in Amberley, North Canterbury.

A man was held down at gunpoint in his living room while the intruders ransacked his house.

The intruders, again thought to be three men and a woman, burst in after he answered the door about 2.30am.

The homeowner was "traumatised", Senior Constable Craig Newman said.

"His mannerisms were such that I believed what he was telling me. He was shaking and was pretty scared."

It was not yet known if the offenders knew the victim, or what they took from the property.

The victim had been taken elsewhere while police tried to identify what was missing, Newman said.

A scene examination had been completed.