Thieves rob business as man sits with sick wife

As a Kapiti Coast man stayed overnight in a hospice with his sick wife, thieves were breaking into his business and trashing the office.

They stole a vintage safe and a couple of thousand dollars' worth of equipment.

"It's p***ed me off," said Stephen Fraser, owner of Paraparaumu Beach automotive repair firm Autoquick 2000.

"Somebody must have known the safe was there and somebody must have known I was spending time with my wife in the hospice."

Mr Fraser's wife Daryll has secondary cancer and, while she is home in Waikanae this week, has spent time in respite care at Wellington's Mary Potter Hospice.

As she and Mr Fraser slept, thieves broke into his business about 2.50am on Thursday.

They entered through a skylight and triggered the alarm. Mr Fraser's home phone rang to alert him, but he wasn't there.

He missed a call to his mobile because he turned it on vibrate mode to avoid disturbing people in the hospice.

Security guards and police checked the premises but found no signs of forced entry.

The next morning, however, a mechanic turned up to work and found a crime scene.

The office was trashed and a heavy vintage safe was missing.

It weighed about 200 kilograms. There was nothing of real value inside, but Mr Fraser said the safe itself was collectable and "very English".

"I'm kicking myself for never taking a photo of it."

A drill left behind showed the thieves might have planned to open it but instead they'd probably driven a vehicle in through the roller doors and loaded it in, Mr Fraser said.

"When I put it in there it took four people. I'm not a big guy, I'm not a dweeb."

The thieves also took an advanced multi-metre and a snap and exhaust gas analyser.

Police forensics had since examined Mr Fraser's business and taken the drill for analysis but the safe bandits haven't been caught.

"I'm pretty gutted about it really, just to know somebody violated your space. It's a little bit calculated," Mr Fraser said.

"It's the last thing I really need at this time."

He hoped any scrap metal dealers that came across the safe would contact police and he urged the thieves to give back the stolen items.

"I'd be quite happy for them to return my gear. I know the police don't stop looking, that's one of their traits."