Neil and Anton Jones, of Te Kauwhata, had a water blaster stolen from their home. Photo / Malisha Kumar
Neil and Anton Jones, of Te Kauwhata, had a water blaster stolen from their home. Photo / Malisha Kumar
The owners of a stolen water blaster have taken the unusual step of offering the perpetrator a few maintenance tips and some spare parts.
Brothers Anton and Neil Jones, from Te Kauwhata, awoke last Saturday morning to discover their beloved Karcher 10/25HD water blaster had disappeared after four years of ownership.
In a surprisingly generous twist, the Waikato brothers have extended an offer to the thief.
The Jones brothers invited the thief to return to their residence in the Waerenga area and take the spare parts that the duo had purchased for the water blaster.
The duo took their predicament to the Te Kauwhata community page with two options for the thief and a phone number for contact.
The first option was to return the machine but, failing that, they said the thief might as well come back and grab the spare parts, in the form of an almost-complete water blaster of the same type.
“These machines last forever, but when they do need parts, it can be expensive,” the post said.
The Jones brothers gave the water blaster thief two options. Photo / Te Kauwhata community page
More than a week had passed and the duo had not received a response.
Neil said he was genuinely not angry at the thief although he was initially peeved off.
“I want him/her to give it back and if he doesn’t want to, he can just come and get the parts.
“If he turns up and says, ‘I stole your water blaster and I want the parts’, I’ll shake his hand, give him the parts and wish him the best.
“Putting emotion aside, the fact is they have the water blaster now and there’s no way of us getting it back unless they decide to return it. Getting wound up doesn’t help the situation at all so in this case, we thought to just look at the facts and go, ‘Well, we want it back, but if we don’t get it back, let’s just be as useful as we can and give them the parts.’”
He said the Karcher 10/25HD was a “great machine” for the time they had it.
“It’s really fantastic, it’s the best electric water blaster I’ve ever used and we got real good use out of it.
“These machines last forever, but when they do need parts it can be expensive”, he said.
He said there were some problems with the stolen water blaster. It needed new o-rings in the lance and the pressure gauge needed some thread sealant to stop slight leaks.
A Karcher 10/25HD water blaster, similar to the one taken from the Jones brothers' house in Te Kauwhata. Photo / Anton and Neil Jones
He also said the soap takes a while to come through and an eye should be kept on the oil level because it was an expensive fix if it ran dry.
The victims have decided not to take the crime to police.
“‘The police have better things to do and [in] all reality the police have really little chance of getting it back, and also the method people often take as first protocol [is] ring the police and try and get the guy/girl punished for what they’ve done instantly.
“We just felt like in this case, it wasn’t the right thing to do and instead to be gracious so it’s what we did.
“At the end of the day it’s just stuff - I heard someone say once that if money can solve the problem it’s not that big of a problem and I think there’s a lot of truth to that,” he said.
“Come and take the parts or please return the water blaster.”
The Jones brothers are originally from Auckland but made Te Kauwhata their home two years ago.
They’re both in their mid 20s and own a hire business together in Te Kauwhata called Lifestyle and Commercial Hire Ltd.
