A horrifying ordeal has unfolded in Whangarei where a man stole a car with a baby inside from a petrol station on Wednesday morning.
Luckily, police found the vehicle in nearby Kensington a short time later with the baby safe and well.
About 11:35am on Wednesday, the driver exited the car at a petrol station on Maunu Road before a man got in and drove off with the child still inside, a police spokesperson says.
Soon after the police located the car in the Kensington area, where the man had pulled over and fled on foot.
"Thankfully the young baby has been located safe and well inside the vehicle," the spokesperson says.
"Ambulance staff have assessed the baby as a precaution. Her mother is understandably shaken by the incident."
Hannah Dunn was working at Liquor King next to the petrol station when the incident happened, saying she was shocked when she found out.
"We had a customer come over and he told us there was a bit of drama going on at the BP and we didn't actually realise it was a male on a bicycle who had stolen somebody's car with a child inside.
"It was a bit intense for us because the guy who came over here didn't know what to do.
"I was actually in shock, I couldn't believe it had happened right next door to our store and I didn't know what to believe but I was really upset for the woman with the child."
Dunn says she hopes the mother isn't too shaken up by the situation.
"I hope the woman is all right, you know what I mean, it must be pretty intense for her to go through that situation with the child still being in the car. I hope that they've found the male with the baby because it's a pretty intense situation."
Police are continuing to conduct enquiries in the area to try and locate the offender.
