A Dunedin church group is back chopping charity firewood after offers flooded in to replace its stolen log splitter.
Earlier this month, a log splitter paid for by donations from members of Dunedin City Baptist Church was stolen from the church grounds in Concord.
The splitter was used to provide families in need with wood to keep their homes warm this winter.
Church caretaker Malcolm Cowan said he had received seven different offers of log splitters to borrow and two offers of donations and a man and his son went to the church last Friday and Saturday to split some wood with their own splitter.
A man from Gore even offered to buy the church a new splitter.
Mr Cowan said the response had been amazing and quite heartening.
"It’s a nice response. We’re a church, we’re giving away the wood for free and it’s given us a lot of pleasure to bless people with a load of firewood."
A person from Concord had loaned the church their splitter for a week, allowing the work to continue.
There was a lead on who stole the church’s splitter but nothing had come of it yet, Mr Cowan said.
"It would be nice to have our one back.
"Maybe the person might see the light and decide that ‘I think I’ve done something rather bad here. I think I’ll take it back’.
"Who knows? That would be a real good-news end to the story, wouldn’t it?"
He was grateful to be able to serve the community again and something good had come out it, Mr Cowan said.
