'Absolutely gutted': Wrecked rickshaw spoils birthday

Jess Reid received an unwanted birthday present when her family’s treasured rickshaw was vandalised while parked up near a Christchurch beach.

Reid was celebrating her 41st birthday with husband Hamish and six close friends around a bonfire at Cave Rock.

The couple rode the rickshaw to the beach about 6.30pm on May 23 and parked it on the Esplanade near The Beach Sumner.

When the group returned about two hours later, they found it had been badly damaged.

“I was absolutely gutted, I was just so upset and I don’t understand why someone would do it,” Reid said.

“The fact that they’ve been so intentionally aggro and systematically destroyed each component, it felt like a personal attack.”

The vandals kicked in the sides, ripped off and destroyed the canopy, smashed the lights and broke the steering mechanism.

Reid and Hamish live in the village with their three children, Elsa, 11, Matilda, 10, and Thorfinn, 8.

They bought the rickshaw 18 months ago and use it for school drop-offs.

“It’s quite a unique thing and the rickshaw is just a fun way of getting around the village, especially in summer when its impossible to get a park,” she said.

“I’m a bit of a quirky person, I like that it’s a bit unusual. I love that it makes people smile and it’s just a happy interaction with the community when we’re out and about.”

The damage has deeply upset the children.

A security camera at The Beach Sumner did not capture the incident, and Reid has reported it to police.

She believes a group of teenagers on the beach at the time may have been responsible.

They were reportedly burning pallets taken from a nearby construction site, and when two of Reid’s friends approached them they were met with abuse. Reid said the group was also throwing eggs at people.

The family first experienced a rickshaw during a holiday in England, where Hamish is from.

“The kids had been on a rickshaw bicycle in the West End of London, they’re really pimped up with music and it was hilarious. As a joke I said to my husband that I want one for Christmas,” Reid said.

Hamish later found one on Facebook Marketplace in Te Anau. The owner had imported it from China to turn into a mobile ice cream stall but never followed through.

“It kind of felt like the stars just randomly aligned because I’ve never seen one or anyone on one in New Zealand,” she said.

Reid said the rickshaw is irreplaceable and the family hopes it can be repaired.