[en] The magnetostatic coupling in lithographically defined 25 nm thick Ni₈₀Fe₂₀ wire arrays has been investigated using magnetoresistance (MR) measurements. The structures consist of array of micron-size wires with inter-wire spacings in the range from 50 nm to 2 μm. For the field applied along the easy axis of the magnetostatically coupled wire array, a novel magnetoresistance behaviour is observed which we explain in terms of anti-parallel alignment of magnetisation in adjacent wires in the array. The MR response to the field applied along the hard axis is found to be very sensitive to the inter-wire spacing due to magnetostatic interactions. Our observations show that magnetostatic coupling is an important parameter in the design of magnetic devices