Chch police investigate stolen mail

A large amount of mail has disappeared from Christchurch letterboxes in recent months. File photo / Thinkstock

Christchurch police are investigating the theft of a large amount of mail across the city.

Police were alerted to the thefts after New Zealand Post contacted them two weeks ago, Detective Senior Sergeant David Harvey told Radio New Zealand.

He would not say how many letters had been stolen, but said it was Christchurch-wide.

It appeared mail had been taken from people's letter boxes, especially as many homes had been left vacant because of earthquake damage, he said.

The Earthquake Commission (EQC) said more than 630 cheques, totalling $1.9 million, had not been banked.

There could be several reasons why, EQC acting chief executive Bryan Dunne said.

"Some people are querying their assessment and they believe that by cashing the cheque they have accepted the decision made by EQC. This is not the case.

"Banking the cheque will not affect the final settlement amount and it is particularly important that people have the money, at what may be a difficult time for them."

If people had lost their cheques they could call EQC and be issued a new one, he said.

EQC has received more than 377,000 claims since the first earthquake last September.

It has paid out more than $1.1 billion in payments - amounting to more than $3 million per day since September 4.

- NZPA