Sydney: A man was charged with attempted murder in Australia today after allegedly stealing a bulldozer, crushing four cars and then driving the machine through a house.
Police were called to the home in Teralba, 143 kilometres (89 miles) north of Sydney, early today after the 48-year-old flattened the cars then turned his attention to a 29-year-old man, it was claimed.
He gave up that pursuit and instead rammed the bulldozer through the house, destroying it.
Three people inside, a 56-year-old woman and her two daughters aged 15 and 20, managed to flee with the help of a neighbour and escaped injury.
Police were forced to smash a window of the bulldozer and pepper-spray the man before hitting the emergency shutdown button to stop the rampage.
"The 48-year-old man is known to the family," New South Wales police said in a statement, adding that he had been charged with attempted murder.
His motive was not known although the Sydney Morning Herald said he also faced a charge of breaching a court order imposed against him to protect one of the females living in the home.
