An honesty box that was stolen earlier this week from a tennis club on Auckland’s North Shore has been returned.
On Wednesday, Campbells Bay Tennis club members were shocked to find a hole in the ground where the honesty box for court fees had been.
CCTV footage released from the club at Centennial Park showed two people dragging the honesty box away in a wheelie bin.
In a statement today, a police spokesperson said a 25-year-old man had been arrested and charged with theft.
He would appear in North Shore District Court on February 28, police said.
“Police would like to thank those in the community who provided information which assisted us with this investigation,” a spokesperson said.
Images posted to the club’s social media showed two officers dragging the box encased in concrete back to the club using the wheelie-bin it was taken in.
Campbell’s Bay Tennis Club secretary John Roughan told 1News it was “a great relief” to have the honesty box returned.
He said the money from the box had been taken, but said there were “a few notes” left inside, totalling $15.
Roughan said the alleged offender had also been issued with a trespass notice, and he was pleased the person would not be able to hang around the club.
“The club is in a bush park, so it’s a place where people could easily feel a bit frightened, and we have to make sure that they don’t.”
He said the club was “quite touched at the level of concern for our humble little honesty box”, and thanked the members and wider community for their support.