Three alleged machete-wielding home invaders have been arrested over a crime spree on the NSW Central Coast that left two police officers injured.
The arrests were made after a major police response to a break-in at Avoca Beach involving local uniformed officers, the Police Dog Unit and Traffic and Highway Patrol Command.
Brisbane Water Police District said officers were called to reports of a home invasion at 8.30am on Monday morning, and when police arrived the three alleged armed offenders fled into bushland and onto nearby properties.
A large-scale search was launched that resulted in two suspects being arrested nearby, and a third shortly afterwards following the pursuit of an allegedly stolen white SUV that ended in a crash at Terrigal.
A member of the public was injured and treated at the scene along with a police officer who also suffered injuries in the incident.
A second officer was also injured and required hospital treatment in Gosford.
All three males were charged with a number of serious offences including “armed with intent to commit indictable offence”, “aggravated break and enter with intent to commit indictable offence”, “participating in a criminal group” and “predatory driving motor vehicle”.
The trio were refused bail and faced court on Tuesday, and investigations into the incident are ongoing, police said.
Header image: Left, one of the men being arrested. Right, the allegedly stolen car after the crash (Brisbane Water Police District).
