A Northland family facing tough financial strain in the lead up to Christmas have been dealt a cruel blow after thieves ransacked their home but left behind a vital clue at the scene.
Police investigating a burglary of an Onerahi home early on Sunday morning were given an excellent startingpoint after the alleged offender left his driver's licence in the lounge at the house.
Andrea Jenkins told the Northern Advocate her home had been ransacked and a huge amount of items taken including most of her children's clothing and toys.
All the food from the fridge and freezer was also taken in the raid.
So angry at the theft, Ms Jenkins took to facebook on Sunday and posted a photo of the alleged thieves driver's licence along with a cap found on the driveway.
The post has since been "liked" more than 6000 times and "shared" over 4000 times.
Ms Jenkins, her partner and her brother had gone to Toll Stadium to watch a public fireworks display and socialising before getting home at 3am to discover the break-in.
Her children aged 7 and 3 had stayed with a family member.
Ms Jenkins said there was blood all through her son's bedroom and the driver's licence was next to a stereo in the lounge which had been smashed up.
"We are already having a hard time financially and we were wondering how we were going cope through Christmas. This has made it much harder."
They had no insurance.
Police are investigating the burglary and confirmed they had spoken with the man who owned the driver's licence found at the scene. He told police he would be going to Kaikohe station today in relation to the burglary.
