The van was clearly sign written. Photo / Supplied
The van was clearly sign written. Photo / Supplied
A Tauranga charity has been forced to put a hold on its long-running free meal service after vandals smashed up the delivery van.
This weekend's spree was the second time in as many months criminals have hit the St Vincent de Paul Society, after the gates from itsCameron Rd op shop were stolen in late November.
The society's Western Bay branch president Tony Rogers said it was "wanton vandalism".
He was called to the storage facility on Courtney Rd in Merivale on Sunday morning, arriving to find nearly all the windows on the charity's old Nissan Vanette smashed.
The rubber seals for windows and doors had been pulled out, upholstery ripped and the bulkhead damaged.
"It was clear they had tampered with the fuel as well because the cap was lying on the tarmac some distance away," Rogers said.
He said the van was cleaned out after every delivery and nothing had been left inside to steal.
"It is disheartening, to say the least, to see a charity hit without rhyme or reason. There was no value that could have been obtained. To my mind it was just wanton vandalism."
The van was clearly sign written. Photo / Supplied
He said the van had been parked in the same spot putside the storage facility without issue for the 12 years the society has been running its Fullstop meal delivery programme.
Six nights a week volunteers visit the poorest parts of Tauranga - a different area each night - giving away sandwiches or soup, drinks and fruit.
Rogers said they gave out hundreds of meals a week.
The van, which was insured, had special fittings for the deliveries that could not be easily removed, so the service had to stop until the van was fixed.
"The damage to the vehicle means other people are going to miss out."
Rogers did not know how much repairs would cost but said if the bill ran into the thousands of dollars the society would have to consider replacing the van altogether as it might not be worth repairing it.
Police confirmed the vandalism had been reported and they were making inquiries.
Tony Rogers after St Vincent de Paul's gates were stolen in November. Photo/George Novak
The community rallied around the Vinnies after the gate theft. Tauriko-based EasyGate made and installed a new set of gates for free within a week.
Charity's double hit
November 2017: Thieves steal op shop gates January 2018: Vandals smash up van
