Thieves 'clean out' dairy

ROBYN DOWNEY

VICTIM OF CRIME: A saddened Charlotte Hardy who has decided to continue running her dairy after thieves broke in and stole around $40,000 worth of goods.

Relevant offers

Crime

Top cop defends police action Partner-bashing man jailed Man arrested on cocaine smuggling charges Urewera Four trial: Boys to be star witnesses 'Urewera four' armed revolutionary leaders - Crown House row sparked mansion killings, court hears Jail for Thailand child sex tours Murder accused wanted to flee Nelson Radical trial system shake-up proposed Man threatened to kill over internet use

A Dargaville dairy owner has had to muster up all her courage to keep going after her store was almost cleaned out by thieves just before New Year.

Charlotte Hardy returned from celebrating Christmas with her parents at Opotiki to find her small shop, which she thought was as secure, broken into and around $45,000 worth of stock and personal effects stolen.

The goods were taken from the shop and its living quarters, where her business partner Patrick Fabish resides. Ms Hardy does not live on site.

Ms Hardy spoke to the Dargaville and Districts News today, saying she wanted to tell her story so people would understand how devastating this kind of incident can be.

"I did feel like chucking it in at first, I must admit, but I remembered what my parents told me as I was growing up, not to let anything or anyone stop you and face challenges head-on and don't give up."

She had closed the shop with everything in order at around 10pm on December 28, after preparing for the next day's trading.

Following her parents' advice took a lot of doing when Ms Hardy opened up her store at around 6.30am the next day, to find almost all her stock gone and five-dozen eggs thrown and smeared around the premises.

"I could actually handle the fact that I'd had a burglary and even that the stuff had gone but what I found hard was the terrible mess they'd made with the eggs and just the disrespect of it all. It was almost like they were saying 'you're an egg' or something," she says.

Thieves took all the drinks, milk and dairy products from fridges, all the takeaway supplies, cigarettes, grocery items, and the cash register with the float cash.

From the living quarters, family CDs, a DVD player, a new television, lawnmower and her business partner's tools. Drawers had been pulled out and ratted through in the living area.

Entry was gained forcibly and measures have been put in place since the burglary to tighten up any possible weak points, she says.

"The thing is we have security mesh everywhere."

Security mesh can be seen on all the windows and doors, around the building.

Ms Hardy says Mr Fabish had also gone on holiday and security firm staff were keeping an eye on the shop during their rounds, both driving by and checking around the outside of the building.

However, even the quick actions of a neighbour didn't stop the thieves.

The neighbour, who did not want to be named, says he heard noises and talking coming from the shop on the night the incident occurred.

He says he saw the shop's lights on but thought it was strange because he knew the owners were away.

"I thought perhaps they may have come home early or something but then I saw his car wasn't there," the neighbour says.

He went over to the shop and saw the garage had been forced open so he looked in through the window and saw the inside had been trashed.

"I told my partner to call the police, which she did, and they turned up but were soon called to another incident where a shop window had been broken," he says.

The neighbour says while the police were away, a car turned up and parked outside the shop and he headed towards it but it took off.

"There was still one person left inside the shop because he came dashing out past me and took off on foot."

The neighbour's partner called the police again but the person who had been in the shop was well gone.

"I certainly wasn't going to chase him as he was tall, with long legs, skinny and looked fit," the neighbour says.

- © Fairfax NZ News