A Canterbury man who was left devastated by the theft of a trailer containing his family's belongings, including Christmas presents for his kids, says 'a weight has been lifted' now he has the possessions back.
Father-of-two Jeff took to a Facebook community page on Monday to share news that the items had been stolen, hoping for any information that would lead to the trailer's return.
He says it was taken from the back of his ute near State Highway 1 in Burnham while his family were moving from Canterbury.
Jeff wrote the family was "heartbroken" over the 8x5 single axe trailer's disappearance, telling the social media audience it was full of the last of their belongings as they moved out of Canterbury.
He told Newshub he and his wife it was enough to devastate the couple, after a tough last couple of months.
The family had been borrowing the trailer from a friend and it was holding wrapped gifts for his family for Christmas, a 42" TV, a queen mattress, an iron, a microwave, towels, linen, all of their kitchen appliances, as well as other goods.
Remarkably, although gutted over the loss of their own possessions, Jeff says it was the trailer that was causing stress.
"Being responsible for another's belongings is a big deal, we weren't sure how to break the news to our friend or how we were going to replace it."
He says their luck changed when a person who saw the post got in touch to say they had noticed their neighbours unloading items from a trailer in their backyard - fitting the exact description as what was missing.
"They contacted me and I went around with the owner of the trailer who identified it," he told Newshub.
"They were young fellas and when confronted, they took off in different directions as quickly as they could."
He says it brought a feeling of "absolute relief".
"A weight lifted. This nearly broke us."
