The person first broke into the BP 2go station on Thames St at 4.27am on Wednesday and about an hour later broke into the Sports Central Brewhouse.
Police described the suspect as a European male in his mid to late 20s, of medium build. He was wearing a grey hoodie tight around his face in an attempt to disguise his identity.
Inquiries were ongoing, Sgt Rushton said, but the footage from the Brewhouse was ‘‘gold’’.
Once the footage is distributed among colleagues, police are hoping the offender will be identified.
At the BP 2go station, the person attempted to sneak around the security cameras and then threw a stone at a glass door to shatter the glass, before kicking it in and entering.
The intruder then ran through the hole in the door, ran straight for the Cyclone Gabrielle relief donation fund and left the same way.
BP 2go manager Ralph Davies said the person was not even in the store for five seconds and, although the alarms were set, the burglary was so quick they were not set off.
When an employee arrived the next morning, she was concerned about the damage and who could be inside.
Initially, the employees at BP did not think anything had been taken, but then realised the donation tin was missing.
The money raised from the BP station was intended to be donated to Civil Defence and targeted towards those in Hawke’s Bay.
Mr Davies was ‘‘disappointed’’ the tin had been stolen instead of helping out those in need.
The BP 2go station regularly collects for various organisations, but the Cyclone Gabrielle relief was one of the biggest the garage had collected.
Mr Davies believed the generosity of people giving to the fund was a result of ‘‘the number of people who knew people up north who were suffering‘‘.
Mr Davies said it was ‘‘probably the biggest [collection] he had seen in terms of people putting notes in’’.
The money was collected in a sealed tin and probably had hundreds of dollars inside.
The same person was responsible for another breakin about an hour later at the Sports Central Brewhouse, using a similar method of entry.
The back door of the Brewhouse suffered damage after a failed initial attempt to break in, then a window was broken, through which the person entered the establishment. No damage was done to the inside of the building.
The intruder first went to the ATM but after realising it was empty, grabbed the weekly raffle jar from the counter and left.
Acting Sergeant Neil Rushton, of Oamaru Police, said the actions of the intruder were ‘‘appalling.’’
Sgt Rushton said the attacks on these establishments were targeted and the person knew where to look.
Neither business was occupied at the time of the break-ins.
Sgt Rushton said the breakins were a good reminder that ‘‘crime never sleeps’’.
‘‘Make sure your house and business is locked and secure and tell a trusted person when you are going away, so they can watch out for suspicious activity.
‘‘If you think something or someone is being suspicious, call 111.’’
