Love Soup Charity left disappointed after fridge and freezer stolen

Yet another Rotorua Charity is the victim of burglary after various items were taken from a Love Soup storage unit overnight.

A volunteer for the charity, which works with the city's street people, went to the storage unit this morning and noticed the lock was missing.

Co-manager Elmer Peiffer went down to the storage shed after receiving the call from the volunteer.

"Sure enough I found the lock missing and so was a Haier deep-freezer, Samsung fridge and a red furniture trolley.

"They have made good use of the furniture trolley to wheel all our stuff out."

Both the deep-freezer and fridge were in storage and waiting to be placed into a home for those who had been helped by the charity.

"We are really disappointed. These things are used to furniture homes so they have something to move in with.

"These items alleviate the cost of moving and now this has been taken from them."

Police were unable to comment on the case at this stage.

On August 8 the Visions of a Helping Hand Charitable Trust were devastated and "very frustrated" after the trailer they use to help those in need was taken.

It was taken from the trust's women's and children's shelter at 3.30am but police were able to locate and return it by August 12.

That same week the Rotorua Bike Festival was calling on the public to help locate its trailer after it was stolen.

The thieves worked through a high fence, wheel clamp and towbar lock to take the custom-built trailer for motocross bikes and it has yet to be found.

Police's general advice for preventing burglary

• Always lock up. Burglars often enter through unlocked doors and windows or they take advantage of weak locks.
• Install good quality locks and use them. Check that you will be able to escape easily in a fire or other emergency.
• Use a reputable locksmith.
• Sensor lights are an excellent security device because they light up automatically if somebody moves nearby.
• Keep trees and shrubs trimmed so they don't provide hiding places for burglars.
• Keep windows secure.