A youth has been charged in connection with a massed attack on a lone police officer in Christchurch.
The officer was responding to calls about boy racers in the suburb of Wigram last Friday when confronted by a gang of about 300 young people.
Some of crowd hurled bottles and fired an air rifle, forcing him to flee for safety.
A 17-year-old male has been charged with unlawful assembly and assault with a weapon. He will appear in Christchurch District Court on Saturday.
Police condemned the attack as a serious escalation of criminal behaviour in the city and the Government is considering new legislation to target illegal boy racer activity.
