A DISGRUNTLED soldier has allegedly stolen an armoured personnel carrier and taken it on a 100km joy ride through suburban streets and along a highway in Richmond, Virginia.

The New York Post reported the tank-like vehicle was allegedly taken from Fort Pickett, a National Guard military installation in Nottoway County, Southern Virginia, and then driven to Richmond by the man.

A number of videos of the police pursuit were posted on social media that showed the APC (Armoured Personnel Carrier) as it reached speeds up of to 72km/h. At least six cars and a helicopter from the Virginia State Police were involved in the chase.

The APC cruised along Interstate 95 and then headed into Richmond before making its way to the Capitol downtown.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported the chase ended downtown before the alleged thief abandoned the APC and was taken into custody.

The chase lasted about two hours after the APC was allegedly stolen shortly before 8pm local time (10am AEST)

“It sounds like he pretty much just stopped on his own accord,” State Police Sergeant Keeli Hill told the publication.

The identity of the driver was not made immediately available and police did not reveal how he was able to allegedly steal the vehicle from the military facility.

No injuries or accidents were reported.

However local media reported witnesses as saying that after the vehicle was stopped and the driver climbed out, a dog was sent to subdue him and he was shot with a Taser before being arrested.

Police said the APC did not have any weapons.

The man was taken into custody and the incident is being investigated.

A similar incident happened in Sydney in 2007.

In July of that year, Sydney John Robert Patterson allegedly stole a British-made FV432 APC as he led police on a wild two-hour $6 million rampage through western Sydney.

Police said the privately owned Trojan APC, usually hired out for weddings and monster truck shows, was used to ram seven mobile phone towers and fences.

And in 1995, Shawn Nelson stole a M60A3 Patton tank from a National Guard Armoury in San Diego and embarked on a rampage through neighbourhoods, flattening utility poles, fire hydrants and cars before getting stuck on a road divider. Police officers fatally shot the man as he tried to get the tank moving.

The police said they had shot Nelson, an unemployed plumber and US Army veteran in his mid 30s, because they feared that if he got the tank moving again traffic would be endangered.