Thieves take fireworks from Christchurch shop, but owner says police didn’t investigate

Caveman Electronics in Christchurch was targeted by thieves who stole fireworks. Photo / Supplied

A Christchurch shopowner is disappointed police failed to investigate a break-in at her shop in which burglars stole fireworks but left nearby computers and TVs untouched.

Caveman Electronics owner Lynlea called it a “brutal shock” to discover the break-in yesterday morning at her Hornby shop on Waterloo Rd.

Coming after a string of ram raids across the country, she had hoped police would act to catch the offenders, she said.

However, with no security cameras installed in her shop, police told her they wouldn’t be investigating, she said.

“Police didn’t come around because they didn’t think it was worth it,” Lynlea told Newstalk ZB radio presenter Marcus Lush

Lynlea said her shop didn’t have security cameras.

“Unfortunately, we were in the process of getting security cameras up - no one in our immediate block area has got them either.”

Police said they received a report of a burglary at the shop yesterday morning.

“Fireworks were taken. Police have made initial inquiries but at this stage there appear no further lines of inquiry,” a spokeswoman said.

“If anyone has any information that could be helpful to police they are advised to let us know.”

Lynlea said the burglars pulled the shop’s steel roller door up and then squeezed through a tiny gap.

She didn’t know who robbed the store but suspected it was young offenders because they only took fireworks.

“We’ve got a TV and we’ve got computers and monitors and we had our float in the till, which is only about $50,” she said.

“So we had all of that here and they took nothing except fireworks - that’s what they came in for and that’s what they took.”