Stirling Sports in Levin ram-raided in early morning robbery

Stirling Sports in Levin was ram-raided at the weekend.

The team at Stirling Sports in Levin was left counting the cost this morning of a weekend ram-raid at their Oxford Street clothing store.

A stolen car reversed through the shop front window at 1.56am, nudging the window first before hitting the building at full steam on the second attempt.

The impact left glass and debris scattered throughout the shop.

Security footage showed three occupants ravaging the store of its merchandise, from hoodies, sweatshirts, tee-shirts, and shorts, with no particular item or brand finding favour.

Levin Police arrived on the scene minutes later, but by that time the burglars had gone. Police were given security footage from cameras inside and outside the store.

So far, no arrests had been made.

Shop owner Blue Taylor said they were insured against burglary. It was too early to put an exact figure on the worth of the goods taken, but it could easily have a retail value upwards of $10,000.

Taylor said they were left with a massive cleanup as glass fragments were sent flying 20m into the shop. Many garments left behind by the burglars that were close to impact were now unsellable.

Store owners Blue Taylor and Karen Tatana work through the items that were stolen from Stirling Sports in a brazen night raid at the weekend.

Such a theft was the last thing any store owner needed during a Covid-19 pandemic, which had seen turnover drop while people changed their shopping habits.

"Things have been quite tough. It was only just starting to pick up again in the last couple of weeks with more people out and about," she said.

Taylor said if ram raids were to become commonplace the only solution would be to have bollards erected on the pavement outside.

She was fortunate her husband was a handyman who was able to erect a temporary wooden facade to keep the shop secure.