Wānaka Police are asking local retailers to be cautious after a suspicious incident last week.

“A member of the public reported that a male entered a business property on Cliff Wilson Drive purporting to be from Vector to reading meters,” Wānaka Police Senior Sergeant Fiona (Fi) Roberts said.

“The informant was suspicious as he didn’t have any ID or uniform. The male was wearing a hi-viz vest, with ‘Crocs’.” 

She said she wanted to issue “a heads up” to local retailers to be aware and ask them to let police know if they experience any similar incidents.

Many thousands of people travelled to Wānaka last week for the Wānaka A&P Show and there were several “minor incidents” following the show but behaviour by attendees during the show was “good”, Fi said.

Those incidents included a 21-year-old male being issued with an alcohol infringement notice in the early hours of Sunday (March 9) morning after he breached the liquor ban; “minor disorder in town” on Saturday night (March 8); and property stolen from a vehicle during the show on Saturday.

Fi said emergency services responded to an incident in Luggate last Friday (March 7) “involving a child pedestrian and a vehicle in a driveway”.

The child was airlifted to Dunedin Hospital and an investigation is ongoing, she said.

On Saturday a driver picked up a range of charges after he was stopped for speeding on the Wānaka-Luggate Highway.

“Enquiries ascertained that the same vehicle was involved in [a] petrol drive off at BP Wānaka on March 2,” Fi said. 

“The driver has been charged with theft, possession of methamphetamine, possession of a methamphetamine utensil, failing to carry out obligations re a computer, and is appearing in [Queenstown District Court on] 10 March.” 

The man will also be issued with an infringement notice for speeding and has been trespassed from BP Wānaka. 

Other road policing incidents over the past week included drink driving and driving without a license, and a single car fatal crash occurred at the intersection of SH8 and SH8B in Cromwell.

“This matter is under investigation but amounts to another road death in our area in recent weeks,” Fi said.

Call 111 when you need an emergency response from police, fire or ambulance.

Call 105 to report things that don’t need urgent police assistance.

Call *555 to report road incidents that are urgent but not life-threatening.

To make an anonymous crime report contact Crime Stoppers.

PHOTO: Wānaka App