Police have been kept busy in  Christchurch overnight, with four burglaries within three hours.

At around 2.30 this morning police were alerted to a BP on Innes Road - where offenders tried to break into the cigarette cabinet but were unsuccessful.

They instead got away with chocolates and other items.

Minutes later, a neighbour reported seeing a group of teens take off with cartons of cigarettes from a dairy on Kendall Ave, Burnside.

At around 4AM an exhibition hire services business was broken into, police caught one offender shortly after and recovered the property stolen.

A jewellery store on New Regent Street was next up - with offenders breaking the front window of the Polished Diamonds store.

Investigations will continue today.