Burglars bungled their getaway from a Cromwell shop yesterday morning, leaving most of their haul spilled across the road.
A large display case, 2m long by 1m wide, containing mostly shearing equipment, was taken from Elders Merchandise Ltd in Hughes Cres at 2am.
"The person or people concerned put the case on the back of a ute or in the boot of a car and they drove off in such a rush, it appears the case fell out a few hundred metres along the road and smashed," Sergeant Mike Williams, of Cromwell, said.
There was between $3000 and $4000 worth of gear in the case, but the burglars managed to grab only a fraction of the goods - two shearing hand pieces and some outdoor clothing, valued about $1000 - before fleeing the scene.
They were targeting the shearing gear and had forced entry to the commercial premises, setting off the alarms, Sgt Williams said.
The case was heavy so it would have needed more than one person to lift it.
Cromwell police wanted to hear from anyone with information about the incident, including those who had seen folk wearing "brand new outdoor clothes, like swannies", Sgt Williams said.
