Boy's stolen skateboard returned

A Hastings boy is happily skateboarding again and his father is celebrating the commitment of police in helping him do that.
The father contacted Hawke's Bay Today to say his son Joe had been skateboarding at the Atomic Events Centre in Hastings last Saturday when his skateboard was stolen.
He and his son went to the police station to report the theft, but did not think there was much chance of seeing it again.
However, they did not count on the sharp ears of an off-duty police officer having lunch with his family at a fast food restaurant.
He had overheard two teenagers talking about how they "pinched" a skateboard.
The officer approached the pair, had a bit of a chat, and came up with a skateboard which did not belong to them. He took the pair, and the board, to the station about five minutes before the man and his son arrived.
"The officer in the station put the two events together and within 10 minutes he had his board back," the father said.