Kate Middleton

The 44-year-old woman reportedly tried to avoid prosecution after allegedly speeding the wrong way down a one-way street and rolling her car by claiming to be the Duchess of Cambridge

False identity: The woman claimed to be Kate Middleton after the crash

A woman who crashing her car on its roof tried to convince police she was KATE MIDDLETON.

The 44-year-old allegedly sped the wrong way down a one-way street before rolling the car.

When officers arrived at the scene, in Taranaki, New Zealand, the woman told them she could not be prosecuted because she was Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge.

Senior Constable Grant Kennard said the woman was mentally unwell and refused to let emergency services help her after the incident.

He told the Taranaki Daily News: "She thinks she's Kate Middleton. She was saying: 'You can't touch me because I am royal'.

"It's lucky there was nobody coming the other way."

He said that, before the woman crashed near Tataraimaka on SH45 between Oakura and Okato, she had been weaving across the road.

"A car had to swerve to miss her," he added. "It was a close shave."

Her car landed on its roof after hitting a bank and rolling but she was not badly injured.

The officer claims: "She's obviously someone who is not in a fit state of mind to be driving."

Mr Kennard said the woman was being assessed by mental health professionals and it was unknown if charges would be laid.