Sullivan said the bar’s owners brought everyone in, fearing the excavator driver “was just going to destroy the buildings.”

“They didn’t realize he was trying to steal the vending machine.”

The suspect then “jumped out of the backhoe and ran down the road,” Sullivan said.

“He was wearing a hood. No one came forward and said “we know who it is”… I would be upset if it was a local.

Sullivan said the building’s facade was badly damaged.

“Gutted, you know? My daughters just took over the business a few months ago…coming to the busiest time of the year…would have at least a month or two to rectify that. So it’s just a downtime, you know? Girls trying to make a living, someone’s doing that. It’s really heartbreaking, you know?

“It’s hard enough to make money without it, you know, but we have a good community here. The boys, quite a few guys, professionals all raised their hands and said they would give us a hand. We’re going to have to tear this room down today because it’s too unstable… It’s too broken.

An investigation was underway. Sullivan said he had security camera footage on a hard drive that police were watching.

Police said anyone with information can call them on 105 and quote reference number 241116/2640, or call Crime Stoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

-RNZ

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