The damage to the car which was allegedly driven by a 14-year-old (Supplied)
Police were busy in Ashburton last night after three people went on a crime spree, which ended when they crashed into a KFC restaurant.
The alleged driver is in custody and police say he is 14-years-old. He faces three charges - burglary, failing to stop and dangerous driving.
At 11:30pm police were alerted to a break in at Redmonds Furnishing and Flooring, where the offenders had forced open a side-door. Owner Chris Redmond says they ransacked a desk before taking off.
"Why would you burgle a furniture shop?"
"A bit hard to run down the road with a bed or a couch on your shoulder," he says.
This type of crime was not wanted in Ashburton, Mr Redmond says.
"The sooner they get caught and sent on their way the better really."
Later, in the early hours of Monday morning there was a break-in at Robbie's Bar and Bistro. Owner Nigel Joyce got a call at 3:30am saying the alarm had been activated. He initially panicked, thinking the call may have been about family.
The doors of the restaurant have been ripped off and CCTV footage shows three people breaking in.
CCTV footage from Robbie's Bar and Bistro (Supplied)
Mr Joyce says around $140 was taken, including bottles of spirits, raffle money and money from the guide dog charity box. The courtesy van was also stolen.
"You sort of take it as maybe as a personal attack,but at the end of the day we didn't know who they were," he says.
"They're just the lowest of the low, as far as I'm concerned."
Police spotted the stolen vehicle and the offenders attempted to flee, but crashed into the Ashburton KFC.
The damage to KFC (Supplied)
The 14-year-old was captured after a foot pursuit, while two others got away. Police were fingerprinting the vehicle today to try identify them.
Mr Joyce says the $13,000 van is written off but was fully insured. He estimated the total damage at around $15,000.
Two other burglaries happened overnight, one at Tinwald SuperValue and the other at Temuka New World. Police say they don't think these incidents are connected.
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