Almost every day, items are stolen from Paper Plus in Masterton, but this time it’s personal. Emily Ireland reports.
A World War II German war helmet family heirloom was stolen from Paper Plus in Masterton last week, leaving owners Warwick and Sarah Delmonte disappointed.
When “stock walks out the door”, Warwick Delmonte is usually very happy because “in most cases, our lovely customers have paid for it”.
“That’s what keeps us in business, that’s what keep us in our jobs.”
He said unfortunately there were some people in the community who did not understand this concept.
“Almost every day we lose stock to the light-fingered.
“Thanks to our cameras, we identify a lot of them, but not all.
“The latest piece to go walkabout this week was a rare display item – a WWII German war helmet very similar to the one pictured.
“It’s pretty unusual and rather distinctive.”
Delmonte said he and the staff tried to make the bookshop interesting and had collected many extraordinary pieces over the years to display.
“It makes you think twice about displaying precious things,” he said.
They have also had a large hedgetrimmer stolen from the store.
He noted the thieves had “pulled the heist off”, but he would be much more impressed by a ‘reverse heist’ where the thieves returned the heirloom to the store.
“If anybody hears, sees, or notices anything that could help us retrieve the helmet, we would appreciate it very, very much,” he said.
- If you have any information about the incident, call Paper Plus on 06 378 8300 or message their Facebook page Masterton Paper Plus.
