Offender and stolen ute still missing after brazen daylight Rotorua theft

A stolen ute is captured on CCTV leaving Rotorua heading south. Photo / Supplied

A thief who took a man's ute in a dramatic and brazen daylight theft outside the man's workplace is a "low life" who will never appreciate the damage he's caused, the vehicle's owner says.

The owner rushed to his ute when he saw a stranger sitting in the driver's side of the parked ute at PGG Wrightson, on Marguerita St, at about 10am on Wednesday last week.

The owner, who didn't want to be named, pulled his phone out of his pocket and tried to take a photo of the thief while repeatedly yelling "police, police". He then reached his hand into the open driver's window to try and stop the thief.

But the thief used a "crescent" wrench to smash the owner's arm, rammed the ute into reverse and planted his foot on the accelerator - sending the ute flying backwards with the owner hanging on to the side.

The ute smashed into a power pole before the thief drove forward and sped off. It was spotted on CCTV footage a short time later, heading south of Rotorua.

"I'm lucky he didn't run my legs over," the owner, who wanted to remain anonymous, said.

The stolen ute reversed at speed into the power pole near PGG Wrightson on Marguerita St. Photo / Kelly Makiha

It's been more than a week since the man's 2004 Ford Courier double cab 4WD ute was stolen. The thief - described as Māori, aged about 35 and weighing about 100kg - and the ute are still missing.

CCTV footage from PGG Wrightson showed the man sitting in the ute from 9.15am, which meant he'd spent at least half an hour smashing the steering column and trying to hotwire the vehicle before being caught in the act making his escape, the owner said.

There were several people around at the time, including people in a line of vehicles waiting at Vehicle Testing New Zealand only metres away.

The owner said being insured was irrelevant because to him the ute was valued at around $25,000, yet insurance was only likely to pay $1,200 to $1,500.

The ute had been set up for their family camping with a sliding table in the rear and it had camping equipment and tools inside - some of which he owned for more than 20 years.

"You don't have receipts for any of that so you can't claim insurance."

The dramatic incident left the man shaken because a lot of his personal documentation was inside the ute.

"It does make you feel uneasy because you're dealing with people who don't care. This man hasn't got to this age by being a saint."

The stolen ute reversed at speed into the power pole near PGG Wrightson on Marguerita St. Photo / Kelly Makiha

The owner now has his arm in a cast and will know more about his injuries after a doctor's appointment next week.

"The thief is just a low-life and unfortunately we have got too many of them around Rotorua ... They are being helped more than anyone else in the community, with money thrown at them left, right and centre, and we have authorities not clamping down on them."

Police said in a statement CCTV captured the vehicle travelling through the Hemo Gorge roundabout a short time after it was stolen.

If you have any information about this incident or know where the ute is now, please call 105 and quote the file number 211020/8586.

Meanwhile, the owner hopes he gets his ute back and the chance to hold the offender to account.

"I just want to front the guy in court."