Stolen firearms found stashed in bushes

Police are relieved that four of the five firearms stolen from a locked cabinet at Inchbonnie, near Greymouth, on Sunday have been handed in.

Constable Avril Peterson of Greymouth police said today that two men handed the weapons in about 8 o'clock last night. "They found them wrapped in a curtain and stashed in bushes at Slip Creek, between Kumara and Mitchells."

She said the spot was a well known parking place for people who were going hunting. An old style side-by-side shotgun with a double trigger and wooden stock is still missing.

Police were unsure yesterday whether the burglary was "targeted or opportunist".

West Coast police area commander Inspector John Canning's greatest concern was that the weapons were in the wrong hands.

"It spells disaster - most crimes, including armed robberies are committed by people using stolen firearms, and we don't want that happening here.

"We are taking this theft very seriously, and we are looking at the type of security used for the guns and the house and where they were being kept."