Car pushed into ditch near airport 'written off'

Katrina Thompson, of Dunedin, looks at the damage done to her vehicle, which was pushed into a ditch near Dunedin Airport last weekend. Photo / Peter McIntosh

A young Dunedin woman returned from a holiday in Auckland over the long weekend to an unpleasant surprise.

Katrina Thompson, a community ranger at the Department of Conservation, said she parked her 2000 Toyota Corolla in Miller Rd, near Dunedin Airport, to save on parking fees.

"I've done it a couple of times before, so I thought it would be fine."

Just before taking off from Auckland on her return home, she received a call to say her car's mirrors had been smashed and the roof and windscreen damaged before it was pushed sideways into a ditch.

"The car is totally written off.

"It's just so senseless to roll a car into a ditch. I can't understand it."

Miss Thompson said it cost $300 to have the car towed out of the ditch.

"The car wreckers will pay me $350, so I guess I get $50."

Unable to afford a new car, she would get around on her bike, Miss Thompson said.

Senior Constable Robert Murray, of Dunedin, said a Ford Falcon was also damaged on the same road last weekend.

He encouraged people to use other alternatives, such as shuttles.

"This is not the first time a car has been pushed into the ditch and we have had other cars vandalised over the years.

"The people who have done this have no respect for other people's property. They don't even know who the victims were."

He reminded people that leaving a car in an isolated location was not always a safe option.