The historic Kirwee Tavern was destroyed in a Christmas Eve fire has now been targeted by robbers who took all undamaged alcohol.
In a social media post made by Kirwee Tavern this morning, officials said police wanted to speak to anyone who had seen or heard something between 6pm on Thursday and 9.30am on Friday.
"To the person/people who risked their lives last night to loot the chiller of approx $8-10k worth of beers/wines/RTDs etc you are scum!"
More than 950 people have shared the post, with many saying the incident was devastating for the community.
The New Zealand Herald has been unable to contact the tavern owners.
A police spokeswoman said the robbery was reported at 10.30am today and police were making inquiries.
The only pub in Kirwee, also known as "The Wee", on Courtenay Rd, was reported to be ablaze at 11.47pm on Christmas Eve.
Two fire trucks and a tanker attended the fire but due to the size of the blaze - which was visible from Kirwee Fire Station - the local crew immediately called for extra backup, escalating the fire to a third alarm.
At the peak 16 appliances and about 60 firefighters from Kirwee, Darfield, Coalgate, Rolleston, Sheffield, West Melton, Christchurch Central and Wigram were sent to battle the fire.
If you have any information about the robbery, please contact Rolleston Police.
