The theft of two quad bikes, newly installed radio equipment, a rescue board and some first aid gear from Pukehina Surf Rescue has put the small club's patrol season at risk.
Surf Life Saving New Zealand Eastern Regional Manager Chris Emmett said the club was broken into at 4.30am this morning.
"The club has a monitored alarm but by the time locals had responded, the thieves were too quick and had already made off with the equipment," he said.
Pukehina club captain Kevin Barugh said the theft was devastating and being a smaller club they would struggle to replace the equipment in a short period of time.
"At a replacement cost of around $30,000, it is a huge amount of money for a voluntary organisation to cover and the timing could not be worse with voluntary weekend patrols starting at Pukehina on December 13 and the weekday Regional Lifeguard Service starting on December 22," he said.
