A treat day afternoon out to watch the latest Hobbit movie turned into a sad lift home for Napier woman Megan Bigg and her son, after their bikes were stolen from a bike rack beside Reading Cinema.
"We locked them together - they took the locks and our helmets as well," she said yesterday.
She and 12-year-old Taylor became the latest victims of what Eastern District Police communications manager Kris McGehan said was a "sadly traditional" spike in crime at this time of the year.
"Thieves will strike whether there are people around or not - they will often rely on people's complacency about what they could be up to."
Ms Bigg said she and Taylor arrived at the cinema for the 1pm Tuesday screening around 12.45pm.