Four people will face a variety of charges following a supermarket robbery in Wellington early on Saturday, and an attack on a taxi driver which sparked a police chase, police said.

At about 2am, a security guard was threatened with a knife when he confronted two men leaving a Woolworths supermarket in Johnsonville, allegedly without paying for alcohol.

The men escaped in a stolen vehicle containing at least two other people, Detective Senior Sergeant Paul Borrell says.

About half an hour later, a taxi driver in Miramar was approached by a man and woman and threatened with a screwdriver, then physically attacked by the woman before he was told to get out of the cab, Borrell says.

Money was stolen from the taxi, and the pair were seen getting into the same car used in the earlier incident.

Police pursued the car from Evans Bay Parade in southern Wellington into the central city, where road spikes were laid. However, police stopped the chase after the car, which had a punctured tyre, continued driving dangerously, he says.

Police arrested a 21-year-old man in central Wellington, who abandoned the vehicle after the chase was called off.

Two men, aged 20 and 21, and a 23-year-old woman were found in Lower Hutt later on Saturday morning.

Police are also investigating an attack on a man in Lower Hutt late on Friday night, but have not confirmed that it is related.

"It would appear these offenders have been under the influence of drugs, alcohol, or both, fuelling their appetite for this serious crime spree that has included threatening violence to facilitate escape after committing a crime, and aggravated robbery," Borrell says.

"Both of these carry significant maximum terms of imprisonment."

NZPA

12:33AM Sunday January 11, 2009