A spate of car break ins in Stoke has left vehicle owners feeling annoyed at the seemingly senseless act.
At least six cars were broken into on Songer St during Tuesday night and Wednesday morning last week.
Songer St resident Gemma Kellec came out to go to the gym at 6.30am on Wednesday morning and noticed the back door of her Nissan Tiida was open.
“I thought my partner had left the door open but then I saw all the glass and knew what had happened.”
She says the offenders smashed the small back window before slamming a crowbar between the panel and the inside of the door to pop the lock out to gain entry. They also kicked the handle off the outside of the door.
She says there was a lot of damage, and she is now faced with the insurance excess and a lengthy wait to get everything fixed.
“It’s just so annoying,” Gemma says, “It’s so pointless, it ruins your day and then it takes half of the week’s pay.”
When she called the police she was told they wouldn’t attend something like that, but at around 10am an officer called her, arranging to come and fingerprint the vehicle.
“My partner noticed six other cars had similar damage on the street, so I asked the policewoman if it was because of that and she said it was.
“It was really weird that they said they wouldn’t attend “that kind of thing”,” Gemma says.
A police spokesperson confirmed four youths were arrested following the spate of break-ins in Stoke.
Two of the youths have been referred to Youth Services. By Monday, the other two had appeared in the Nelson Youth Court on charges relating to theft from vehicles.
“We would like to take this opportunity to remind the public to be extra vigilant around securing your vehicle, ensuring all valuables are removed,” the spokesperson says.
“If you are parking on the road, please consider investing in a wheel lock. It is a cheap but effective way of helping to prevent your car being stolen.”
Another Songer St resident, who asked not to be named, said they weren’t aware their car had been broken into until police contacted them.
“Police have been fantastic, nothing gone from our car, police have been super helpful and supportive.”
Nothing was taken from the vehicle.
Gemma says Smith and Smith glass were excellent and got her vehicle in straight away to install a temporary fix for the window..
She says nobody heard anything during the break-in, but her property has cameras installed, which police had access to.
“I work in a salon, and I’ve heard that a similar thing happened on Muritai St the week before.”
Gemma says she has started to wonder what’s next for Nelson.
“You hear of young kids stealing cars and driving into shops and I start to wonder is that what’s going to start happening in Nelson?”
