A woman who had her wallet snatched from her hand on the way to early morning markets in central Whangarei wants others to be aware of the brazen thieves lurking on the streets.
The school teacher, who did not want to be named as she was nervous about being identified by the thief again, was left shaken and upset after a teenager grabbed her wallet and ran off as she was about to cross Water St to the Growers Market on Saturday about 6.50am.
"It could have been a lot worse ... I wasn't pushed over or assaulted but it left me pretty shaken," the teacher said.
She parked her car in the council carpark but had noted a young man sitting on the garden wall of the Hari Krishna food shop. She took her wallet, with $80 in cash, and grabbed a basket for her veges.
"I've been going to the market since it started and it's what I always do every Saturday morning. Then suddenly I felt a tug on my wallet and it was gone."