Back to business for Stratford petrol station after smash and grab robbery

The Z petrol station in Stratford, Taranaki, was robbed early in the morning on Monday, July 22, 2024. Photo / Ilona Hanne

It is “business as usual” for a Stratford petrol station after a burglary on Monday morning.

A lone worker was on shift at Z Stratford on Broadway, State Highway 3, when an “unknown number of offenders” robbed the store, about 2am.

Originally described by a police spokesperson as a ram-raid, the incident has been updated to state the offenders “smashed their way through the doors of the store, taking a number of items”.

The staff member was uninjured but shaken by the raid, police said.

An investigation is underway.

The store remained closed as of 7am on Monday as police investigated the incident and repairs were made to the broken doors.

The store was open again on Tuesday morning, with customers expressing disgust at the robbery.

“It’s just unbelievable this happened in Stratford. And to the staff here, they are all so friendly and nice, it’s awful to think this happened. I hope they are caught and get the book thrown at them,” said John Samson, who was filling up his car.

Samson often drove through Stratford for work and visited the Z station for petrol or food when needed.

“It’s a good stop, it’s clean, everyone is friendly. I hate to think this happened here.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact police quoting job number P059141537.

On Sunday evening, a car was stolen from outside the Subway restaurant opposite the Z station.

The car was a white Mazda Demio belonging to a 16-year-old Subway staff member. The teenager saw the car being driven off as they left work about 9pm and said the driver aimed the car towards them and their co-worker before speeding off.

Police were unable to give any details of the car used in the robbery a few hours later.

Ilona Hanne is a Taranaki-based journalist and news director who covers breaking and community news from across the region. She has worked for NZME since 2011.