Disgusted! Four defibrillators stolen in Napier

The empty box at the Hawke's Bay Sports Fishing Club after the theft of a defibrillator - one of at least four such thefts in Napier in the last three weeks.

Four community defibrillators installed in Napier for use in the event of sudden heart attacks in public have been stolen.

The spate has been revealed after the discovery of a theft from a box at the entrance of the Hawke’s Bay Sports Fishing Club, on Nelson Quay Ahuriri, where club manager Neil Price says it was installed by the club on the outside of the premises two years ago so it could be used by the general public if needed.

“If it was just for members, we wouldn’t have put it on the outside,” he said.

It has since been learned defibrillators have also been stolen a few hundred metres from outside the Napier Sailing Club and the Bluewater Hotel’s sports bar, and from Roslyn Rd, Bluff Hill.

It is not the first time such thefts have happened in Napier - in December 2021, there was a burglary at Napier’s Pacific Surf Lifesaving Club in which two fast-response life packs, an oxygen bottle and five radios were stolen.

They’ve never been recovered, nor has there been any information regarding who may have taken them, club chairman Harry Michiela said.

Defibrillators had been installed in boxes on the exteriors of building to be accessible to the general public, who could use them by dialling 111 for an access number.

Bluewater Hotel proprietor Rodney Green is disgusted with the thefts, saying a box had been “jemmied”. Bemused, he said: “We thought we were doing good by making it available.”

Defibrillators are advertised for sale at between $300 and more than $2000, and are designed for simple use by the general public until expert emergency or medical help arrives.

Police confirmed a theft was reported on March 16 and inquiries are being made.