Car gift after callous theft

Masterton man Alex Tairoa is "overwhelmed" by the generosity of a Wanganui man who has gifted the retiree a car after his was stolen from a cemetery.

Mr Tairoa's green Mazda 626 was stolen while he was visiting his wife's grave at Riverside Cemetery last Friday - he was just 30m away and had left his keys in the car.

Wanganui man Peter Molan said when he read the story in the newspaper last Saturday he was disgusted.

"It's just the way the thieves did it ... he goes up [to the cemetery] every day, it's just gut-wrenching."

Mr Molan said he had been planning to sell he and his wife's third car, but changed his mind when he read about Mr Tairoa's situation.

"I thought, the other guy needs it more than I want to sell it." He bought the Ford Laser about eight months ago, and it has an up-to-date warrant of fitness and registration and just 62,000km on the clock.

"It's just that this was so bloody gut wrenching, you won't get any lower than it ... I'm doing it out of the goodness of my heart ... it's a genuine deal," Mr Molan said.

Mr Tairoa said he learned of the offer when police visited him on Wednesday, and officers would be driving him and his daughter to Wanganui in the next couple of weeks to pick the car up. "I don't know what to think. I'm overwhelmed."

Mr Tairoa said family had told him he might get lucky and have the stolen car returned, or he might get a generous offer, but he didn't believe it would happen.

He said he would thank Mr Molan in person.

Masterton Police Senior Sergeant Carolyn Watson said it was unusual to see such a generous offer.

"It was a pretty horrible thing to happen to him and hopefully this will go some way to help him through his grieving process."

The stolen car has not been recovered, and police are seeking information about the green 1995 Mazda, reg ARD406.