French couple Antoine Demolliens and Morgane Silva who had their backpacks stolen last Sunday night in Napier left Hawke's Bay yesterday almost speechless - with delight and gratitude.
Not only had their packs been found and recovered, but they had also been inundated with offers of food, money, clothing and even replacement packs.
One woman approached police with $300 she wanted to donate to the couple while another had about $50 worth of food.
"People read what had happened and started coming in yesterday morning and they (the couple) were absolutely overwhelmed - blown away," said Detective Inspector Mike Foster who came across the distraught pair just minutes after they discovered someone had smashed their rental campervan window and made off with their packs.
He said all the couple's clothing in the returned backpacks appeared to be intact.
