Elderly shopper shaken by trolley heist

Photo / Dean Purcell

An elderly Whangarei woman shopping at Woolworths had $150 of groceries wheeled away by an opportunist thief as she turned her back to purchase a lotto ticket.

The incident has left her too shaken to shop alone.

It's believed the thief stood beside the woman near the lotto booth and rolled away her trolley of paid for groceries while the woman paid for a lotto ticket.

Kensington Woolworths staff attempted to catch the trolley hijacker but lost track of her in the carpark.

While police said trolley heists are rare or unreported, they advised people to keep their eyes on their shopping to prevent thefts.

A representative for a support forum for women, Tai tokerau Wahine, who did not want to be named, said the woman was too upset to speak to the Whangarei Report but had received food vouchers to the value of goods that were stolen from her.

Northland police communications spokeswoman Sarah Kennett said the exact number of stolen trollies or grocery thefts is difficult to extract.

"There hasn't been any type of this incident occurring that often so I would say it was rare. The thing is, it has to be reported to police and if it hasn't then it needs to be, so we can monitor how often it's happening and do a follow-up."

Woolworths' owner Progressive Enterprises had yet to reply to queries by the Whangarei Report.

Mrs Kennett said it was important for shoppers to keep an eye on their groceries.

"Keeping hold of your goods while you're doing other transactions, that would be good. But if you do become a victim of this type of crime then record any details you can about the offender or any vehicles and call police immediately."

Salvation Army director of community ministries Pete Mullenger said if this incident was an act of desperation, people need to be aware there is help available for them.

"We offer a budgeting service to look at what's going on and how we can help and we have our food bank to assist people in need."

- Whangarei Report