Christmas gone with theft

Thieves have ruined a 1-year-old Hastings girl's hopes of spending Christmas with her grandparents.

Anant Mann and his daughter, Sada, were to have flown to Malaysia today, en route to New Delhi. Mr Mann's wife, Anureet, was to join them in India in March.

But the Manns will not be on that plane. Their passports and traveller's cheques were stolen on Friday night, leaving the family grounded and about $3000 out of pocket.

"It's the passports that mean the most," Mr Mann said. "My mother is sick - she's been calling me over for about a month now."

The family were unloading shopping from the car and left a door open for about 15 seconds, said Mr Mann. In that time, Mrs Mann's handbag went missing - and with it an ATM card, $8500 in traveller's cheques and all three passports.

Mr Mann called police and cancelled the cheques and ATM card, but has to pay about $3000 to rush new passports through, get temporary residency stamps, and book a new flight from Malaysia to New Delhi.

And Sada will not have Christmas with her grandparents.

- NZPA