“The disrespect for my livelihood is the most gutting,” Tim Orsborn says.

The Dannevirke lawnmowing contractor was still dealing with the aftermath of the theft of his work vehicle just three days into the start of the year.

He was away on holiday when he received a call from a friend asking if he was “all right”.

“I said, ‘Yep’, and he said, ‘But your car’s crashed’.”

The friend said his yellow truck had crashed and sent him a photo.

“That’s how I found out. No-one told me anything about the accident at all.”

It was believed the offender took the vehicle, which had been parked on the driveway beside the house, around 7.30pm on January 3 and subsequently crashed it.

The truck was a total write-off.

Orsborn alerted police to the incident and was told the vehicle was a write-off.

It was believed the offender, who had also burgled his home, had found the spare keys to the vehicle, which had a trailer attached containing equipment and other work gear.

“It’s not something you want to hear. The whole drive home was just so sickening. It was not knowing what you’re going to find.”

He said when he got home, he saw drawers had been pulled out and some sentimental items were missing.

There was also a petrol can for the lawnmower sitting inside the house, and he was relieved the house hadn’t been burned down.

The incident has made him more aware of security, but for the first few days, he was very upset.

“It’s hard to walk around with your head up afterwards. I really felt like just not leaving the house.”

A police spokesperson said they responded to reports of a stolen car that had crashed on King St, Dannevirke around 9.10pm on January 3.

A youth has been spoken to by police, with actions being considered.

Orsborn would like to see some repercussions, or at the very least an apology.

“What I’d really like to do is just say, ‘Look, come and mow the lawns with me’. Some kind of payback for what they did. I think that would be wonderful if he just came along, mowed a few lawns, and acknowledged what he did was wrong.”

Orsborn’s daughter has set up a Givealittle page to help support her father: https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/a-little-kindness-makes-tomorrow-meaningful.