Eleven stolen road signs have been returned to their rightful owners across the South Island after being discovered at a property near Greymouth.
The signs were from Greymouth, Runanga, Timaru, Gladstone, Cameron, Rutherglen, Ōtira and Paringa — and included two street signs and a police sign.
Some belonged to local councils, while others were owned by the NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi.
Police located the haul while executing a search warrant at an address in Dobson, east of Greymouth, in March last year.
Grey District Council was notified on June 11.
“The signs have been returned to their relevant owners,” a police spokesperson said this week.
Grey District Council group manager of operations Kurtis Perrin-Smith said the cost of stolen signage quickly added up with a replacement cost of around $400 each.
“It is an unnecessary cost to the ratepayer.”‘
One sign was returned to the neighbouring Westland District Council, and another from Timaru made its way back home across the Southern Alps with the help of a local transport company.
“Thanks to the team at Hilton Haulage for picking up the sign when they were doing another job in the area,” a Timaru District Council spokesperson said.
A 22-year-old man was charged with receiving property over $1000 and receiving property under $500.
