Whangārei phone booth stolen in broad daylight

Dave Gundry is offering a reward for the return of this distinctive phone booth that was stolen from outside his Portland home in broad daylight.

Who stole the phone booth? A gutted Dave Gundry is dialling up help from all and sundry for the recovery of his pride and joy — an old red phone booth — gifted to him by his mother.

Light-fingered thieves took crime in Northland to a whole new level by stealing the distinctive red box from the end of his driveway on Portland Rd, just south of Whangārei, in broad daylight last week.

He hasn’t reported the matter to police but is offering an unspecified reward for its return.

“It’s really heavy ... it will take two to three people to lift it. It had to be lifted over two cars that were parked beside the phone booth,” Gundry said.

He discovered the phone booth missing upon returning home from work late last week. Since then, he’s taken to social media and appealed for information about the booth’s whereabouts.

The phone booth is of sentimental value and had been outside his Portland home for the last 25 years.

It used to be at the Maungaturoto Railway Station and his mother bought it when the town’s post office closed down about 35 years ago.

“She gave it to me. For 25 years, it sat outside my house and before that, it was outside my workshop on Port Rd.

“Whoever stole it has been there for a while and must have known the area. It must have been someone who knows me. The phone booth was sitting at the end of a 100-metre driveway,” he said.

Gundry said the phone booth has been rebuilt over the years but needed a fresh lick of paint.

His mother passed away about 10 years ago.

“My mum will turn in her grave,” he said.