Man caught on camera trying to smash front of Rotorua jewellery store
A man has been caught on camera trying to smash the front of a Rotorua jewellery shop in the early hours of the morning.
Rotorua Jewellers co-owner Rod and Janine Pearce were woken this morning around 4.20am by their security company.
A man attempted to smash the window of the CBD store with what Pearce said appeared to be a "big spanner", and set the shop alarm off in the process.
In footage provided to the Rotorua Daily Post by the owner, a man can be seen running towards the store and throwing something at the window.
The object bounces back, and the man picks it up and begins hitting the window with it.
Within seconds, the light inside the store switches on as the alarm sets off and he quickly runs away.
Pearce said the footage was "disconcerting".
"It's not very nice, especially when it's been done three times in a year ... it's very disconcerting."
This was the second time this year there had been an attempted robbery at the store this year.
In January, several men also attempted to break through the window but were also unsuccessful.
Pearce co-owned the store with his wife as well as another jewellery store in Te Puke which he said had an attempted break-in two months ago, costing $5000 to replace the window.
"They smashed the hell out of the window."
A police spokeswoman said an attempted burglary was reported on Tutanekai St about 6.35am this morning, although the attempt had been made earlier.
No arrests have been made and inquiries are ongoing, she said.