The insurance company for a recycling charity in Auckland is on the hook for more than $20,000 for equipment reportedly stolen from the organisation.
Repair Café, which provides specialist gear to fix broken goods for free, is now working with its insurance company but believes it will not be a straightforward fix, Radio New Zealand reported.
Repair Café team member Andrew Walters, from Global Action Plan Oceania, told the publication the excess is about $2,500 for any theft.
“That does take a big bite out of what we can possibly replace,” he said.
The thieves reportedly used bolt cutters, cleaned the trailer and left no fingerprints in what police described as a targeted, professional job.
Walters claimed the trailer was packed full of specialist tools, including a portable appliance tester, sewing machines, plastic welders and electrical tools with magnifying glasses.
“Up to big items like bike repair toolkits with absolutely everything you’d need to fix any type of bike that came in,” he said.
“Sadly they even took the children’s repair toolkits ... these were the toolkits we had so children who came along to the events could get involved in the flavour of the day,” another person behind the charity, Stephen McLuckie from Shore to Thrive added. “That was a bit of a low blow,”
Radio NZ added the team did not want donations of equipment because the tools they used were very specialised, but sponsorship of the project was a possible option.
