Gill Newman and her family moved to Dunedin last September and re-established her property management and development business - Burrell Family Trust Investment Properties - in Jones St, only to find she has become the target of petty thieves, who continue to steal items from her premises.
"The one stumbling block to our happiness here is the constant stealing of our property from our office building ...
"We have had endless trouble with stealing from this property.
"First, it started with just the odd roll of loo paper out of the back toilets. Next, it was our wheelbarrow, then our outside table and three chairs.
"We've now just discovered our large black pots that sit outside the front door were stolen on Saturday night."
The pots survived the Christchurch earthquakes and were brought to Dunedin, she said.
The pots had sentimental value, so to deter thieves she had filled them with sand and wired them to a nearby fence.
Despite them weighing "a ton", they too were taken.
"They would have been at least a two-person lift.
"These pots have survived all those earthquakes in Christchurch and also been moved to four different properties before coming to Jones St, so it was heartbreaking to see them stolen.
"We were left with a pile of sand and the wires just hanging off the fence ... It's depressing and discouraging."
Mrs Newman did not believe it was a reflection of the behaviour of all people in Dunedin and, despite the thefts, she said life in Dunedin was better than in Christchurch.
In a bid to further deter thieves, she planned to install security cameras. She had also offered a reward to anyone who could help her recover the items.
