Dunedin police say the Yuletide spirit was lacking in the city on Christmas Day, with officers dealing with a disappointing amount of criminal activity.
Senior Sergeant Kelvin Lloyd said the criminal activity started off with a suspicious fire next to a metal skip in Port Chalmers at 4.30am and then another which destroyed the Waitati bus shelter not long after.
At 5.30am police responded to reports of offenders throwing bricks and rocks through car windows in South Dunedin. Offenders had also broken into cars and taken items in the Kirkcaldy St area, Snr Sgt Lloyd said. He said the Christmas spirit ''seemed to be sadly lacking in Dunedin'' with the amount of offending reported similar to a normal weekday.
''We were disappointed with the amount of criminal offending that was happening on Christmas Day. It was really disappointing to see that we could not manage a relatively crime-free day on what should be one of the quietest days of the year for us,'' he said.
