A leap too far for wanted man

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A man wanted on charges of manufacturing methamphetamine led police on a daring foot chase over a series of Hamilton rooftops, only to find himself thwarted by driveway too wide to jump.

Senior Sergeant Wayne Petherick, said armed officers went to a hotel on London St shortly after 7am looking for the 35-year-old Hamilton man, who had a warrant for arrest for the manufacture of methamphetamine in relation clan lab found at Waitetuna in July last year.

Police were armed "because the man was known to have had access to firearms in the past".

"Wanting to avoid police attentions, the offender fled out a third floor window of the hotel and then ran off along roof spaces of adjoining buildings," he said.

But the man's parkour - or urban cross-country - skills failed him when he came to a ledge that was too wide to jump, because of a driveway between buildings.

"With the assistance of the Fire Service's aerial ladder truck the offender was arrested and brought back to ground from a second floor roof top and he will appear in the Hamilton District Court later today on drugs charges," Petherick said.

Police were talking to a woman also found at the hotel.

- © Fairfax NZ News