Hundreds lose power in Gisborne as police investigate multiple car break-ins

No arrests have been made while a “bloody angry” victim is counting the cost and suggests parents be made to foot the bill for the actions of what are believed to be young offenders.

A car that smashed into a power pole in Gisborne, cutting power to hundreds of people, was one of multiple vehicle break-ins overnight Thursday.

No arrests have been made while a “bloody angry” victim is counting the cost and suggests parents be made to foot the bill for the actions of what are believed to be young offenders.

Emergency services were called to the Aberdeen Rd crash near Albert St and Fergusson Dr at around 12.20am Friday morning.

“The pole was broken but the power lines remained suspended in the air,” a senior firefighter said.

“There was no one with the vehicle when we arrived.”

Firefighters stood by while faults staff made the scene safe.

A Firstlight Network spokeswoman said approximately 730 customers lost power.

“Our contractors restored power to over 580 of them within 45 minutes.

By early Friday morning, they had installed a generator and restored a further 80 customers in the Fergusson Dr area.

“There were still 77 customers without power in Albert St and parts of Aberdeen Rd,” she said.

“Their power was restored by mid-afternoon yesterday once the damaged pole had been replaced safely.”

Police have an inquiry underway.

“We are currently looking into a number of car-related incidents that night where vehicles have been interfered with and in some cases stolen from properties in the wider Tairāwhiti area,” police said.

“We believe four to five cars were targeted overnight and one was likely involved in the crash involving a power pole on Aberdeen Rd after it was unlawfully taken during a burglary.

“A dog track failed to locate the occupants of the crashed vehicle, who were seen to leave the scene of the accident on foot,” police said.

“We are investigating this series of incidents to try to establish clear suspects for accountability.”

No arrests had been made to date.

The owner of one of the vehicles involved said he was “absolutely gutted” after going out to his car parked in the driveway at 6am on Friday to discover it had been broken into.

The car was locked.

“The scum who did it smashed in the quarter-light window in the rear passenger door to get inside.

“They then tried unsuccessfully to hot-wire the car and in doing so absolutely smashed the ignition system.

“It’s the first time in many years that I’ve had someone interfere with a vehicle my wife and I own, and we’re bloody angry about it.”

The car was parked in a well-lit area with a streetlight nearby and security lighting at their home.

“I’m told there’s a lot of this sort of rubbish activity going on in the city at the moment involving young people,” the man said.

“Hopefully the police can crack down on it and get hold of those responsible.

“In my opinion, their parents should be made to pay the bill my wife and I now face to repair our car.”.