Cruise ship passengers suspected of stealing from Lyttelton gift shop

The Celebrity Eclipse docked at Lyttelton. Photo / Star News

Cruise ship passengers are expected to bring a $260 million boon to the Canterbury economy - but one small business owner suspects some passengers are taking, not giving.

Maree Henry, who has a gift shop in Lyttelton, said she was disappointed and shocked at the suspected thefts.

“It’s a little shop ... it’s not The Warehouse. You just get by working week to week. I’m trading, buying and selling, so the theft makes a dent in that equation,” she said.

Henry had never seen stock go missing like it has on the day’s cruise ships docked, even when they used to dock before the earthquakes.

Specifically, she has noticed merino socks, silk scarves and jewellery stocks declining.

Henry initially thought she was being paranoid, but thanks to a new inventory system, she started to notice the amount of stock she was counting did not quite add up at the end of the day.

She is considering hiring a security guard and limit the number of people in her shop on days when the ships were in to thwart thieves.

She has reported her concerns to the police.

Maree Henry, of Henry Trading, with a silk scarf similar to the two that were recently stolen. Photo / Supplied

Fifteen cruise ships have arrived in Lyttelton this season.

The Westerdam docked yesterday.

Henry’s suspicions come as cruise ship passengers cram public buses for the $2.10 fare to avoid paying $50 to get a shuttle into the city.

It has left many locals having to wait for multiple rotations of buses because they were too full.

On days when the larger ships dock, with about 4000 passengers onboard, London St, was crowded.

“It’s the volume of people, it’s the overcrowding of the shop ... that’s when you’re busy at the counter and you can’t see someone on the other side of the shop,” Henry said.

-Additional reporting Liz Grant