Police have slammed the behaviour of a Kurow man after he allegedly led police on two pursuits and returned a breath-alcohol figure over four times the legal limit on Saturday.
Sergeant Tony Woodbridge, of Oamaru, said given the area's history of drink-driving-related crashes and deaths, people should understand the damage caused by drink-driving.
About 1.30am, a police officer spotted the 23-year-old allegedly driving the wrong way down a road in the Kurow area. The police officer gave chase but stopped when it became too dangerous to continue.
The policeman spotted the man some time later and once again the Kurow man allegedly would not stop for him and led him on a pursuit which included 3km on the Waitaki River flats before he eventually stopped.
The man returned a reading of 1120mcg. The legal limit is 250mcg.
Sgt Woodbridge said it was ''incredibly dangerous'' to drive on the wrong side of the road.
He said if local people drank and drove the best outcome would be being caught by police. ''The worst [would be] they will end up killing themselves or others.''
The man was charged with drink-driving, dangerous driving and failing to stop for police. He is due to appear in the Oamaru District Court on June 14.
