One morning, two city dairies hit
A Christchurch dairy has been robbed just hours after another in the city was ramraided.
Police were called to a robbery at the Lincoln Rd dairy, between Sylvan St and Domain Tce in Spreydon, about 10.52am yesterday, a spokeswoman said.
A worker at the On the Spot dairy, who did not want to be named, said a young man wearing a hoodie confronted her behind the counter, armed with a small knife.
The man asked the worker to open the cash register, and demanded that she give him her cellphone. The worker refused.
The offender then took about eight pouches of tobacco and some cigarettes before fleeing the store when the worker hit an alarm button. ‘‘These kind of robberies seem to happen frequently,’’ she said.
About 5.20am, police were alerted to an attempted ram raid at the AUM Foodmarket at the corner of Hopkins St and Mackenzie Ave in Woolston.
Shop manager Saginder Singh said he was very upset when he arrived early yesterday morning and saw the extensive damage.
He was unsure when the store would reopen, as there was a lot of damage, which needed to be cleaned up first, he said.
A police spokeswoman said a car crashed through the front of the dairy, but the offenders did not steal any items. Officers had spoken with the shop owner and neighbours.
Police are investigating whether the ram raid had any link to the torching of three stolen cars not long before.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) spokesman Brent Dunn said two cars were found ablaze on Matlock St in Woolston, while a third was found in Greenpark St in Hoon Hay just after 5am.
The fires were being treated as suspicious and police were notified, he said. It was too early to say if the the torched cars and ram raid were related.