Television footage from Australian TV networks Sky News and Nine showed a car with a smashed window abandoned next to a Russian flagpole, which local media said was on the grounds of Russia’s consulate in the Sydney suburb of Woollahra.

New South Wales police said in a statement that officers responded shortly after 8am (2200 GMT) to reports of an unauthorised vehicle parked in the driveway of an address on Fullerton Street that corresponded with the location of the Russian consulate.

Officers attempted to speak to the driver before he drove his vehicle into the gates of the property, police said.

A 39-year-old man was arrested and a 24-year-old constable was injured on his hand, the statement said.

A person answering a phone at the consulate declined to comment on the incident.