Rotorua Jewellers ram-raided for the third time in six months

Rotorua Jewellers was ram raided-overnight, the third time in about six months.

The latest robbery has left store owners Rod and Janine Pearce unsure of the business' future.

Rod said he and his wife Janine were alerted to the ram raid as it happened at 4.48am.

"That's when they drove through the front door. Janine was watching the CCTV on her phone and she could see two guys running around in the shop smashing the display cases.

"That's a really s*** thing to watch from your house."

Pearce compared the feeling of watching the robbery to experiencing a home invasion.

"When you hear that they're inside, that's the worst."

Pearce said all he could do was get dressed and race to the shop.

"They've taken watches, rings, pearl jewellery. It's par for the course. They just take what they can get."

Pearce said he thought the thieves had been in the shop before and looked at what they could steal.

This is the third time Rotorua Jewellers has been the victim of a ram raid in six months.

The Pearces' jewellery shop in Te Puke has also been ram-raided twice in the same timeframe.

Pearce said if a bollard had been in place in front of the shop, the raid would not have happened.

"They drove straight through the shop."

When asked if the store could keep going under the threat of more thefts, Pearce said:

"We don't know, we really don't know. To be honest, we're in shock at the moment."

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Janine Pearce said the store was the couple's passion, but they couldn't get insurance for damages any more.

"One pane of broken glass is $1600," Janine said.

"I don't know if we'll be able to continue after this."

A Rotorua police spokesperson said they were alerted to a break-in at a commercial premises in Tutanekai St, Rotorua, at 5am today.

"A vehicle has been used to gain access. Police are making inquiries to establish what was taken and the extent of the damage."