A backpacker staying in Paihia has been left without wheels and out of pocket after a brazen thief stole his car, dumped it and torched it.
However, Marvin Rieger, from Germany, said the response afterwards from the Paihia community had re-affirmed his view of New Zealanders as the friendliest people he'd met.
The 19-year-old, who is nine months into a working holiday, was working as a dishwasher on Friday night when his dorm room at Bay Adventurer on Kings Rd was burgled.
Items taken included the keys to Rieger's Toyota Tercel and a backpack with a passport belonging to Greg Tasker from Liverpool. A laptop and a credit card were taken from other travellers staying in the room.
The first Rieger knew was when he went to lend his car to a friend on Saturday morning and couldn't find his keys. Then he realised his car was missing too — CCTV showed it had been taken at daybreak from the hostel car park — and roommates noticed their property was also missing.