A self-described "nanny" from Cambridge took matters into her own hands on Easter Monday when she saw ram raiders smashed through the town's Spark store.
The Cambridge grandmother told Cambridge News she was on her way to grab an early morning coffee when she saw a vehicle smashed through the front of the Spark Store on Victoria St.
The woman, who didn't want to be identified, said her instincts took over and decided "it's not happening".
It's reported the woman drove over the median strip and rammed an additional car that's believed to be a getaway car which was waiting for the offenders inside.
"They all came out of Spark like bees from a hive, yelling. I tried to reverse but couldn't, so I hit the car hard again," she told Cambridge News.
She claims one of the offenders which she describes as "a little guy" slipped around in his jandals and fell on the pavement.
"Builder's crack, it was hilarious."
At about 6:15am police received a report of a ram raid burglary of a business on Cambridge's Victoria St.
In a statement to Newshub, a police spokesman said offenders fled the scene in a second vehicle and it appears one phone was stolen.
Police said they were aware that a member of the public attempted to intervene during the ram raid.
The woman said the masked thieves jumped into their now damaged getaway car and sped off with a tyre smoking.
The grandmother claims she chased the offenders at speed but didn't have her moblie phone with her because it had fallen behind the couch the evening before.
She told Cambridge News she followed the offenders, with her hand firmly on her vehicle's horn before she lost sight of them.
The grandmother returned to the Spark store and waited for police. She added later that evening she thought the group wouldn't speak of their alleged crimes after being "chased out of Cambridge by a nana".
Local National MP Louise Upston visited the store on Thursday afternoon and told Newshub the employees thought the woman's actions were "gutsy".
Upston said the grandmother's efforts to stop the offenders are a reflection that Kiwis are "quite frankly sick of it (crime)".
While Upston wouldn't encoruage members of the public to get involved, she said it "shows people have had enough and had a guts full."
Police say enquiries are ongoing to locate the offenders involved and are asking anyone with information to contact police on 105 and quote file number 230410/7895.
The spokesperson added police generally discourage people from intervening "as it put them at greater risk of harm".
Newshub.
