Jewellery thieves getaway hampered as one had a broken leg and the other a prosthetic leg

A pair of would-be jewellery thieves in New Zealand were hampered in their getaway on Wednesday night due to only having two good legs between them. The men were arrested and charged with attempting to burgle a jewellery store on Auckland's North Shore.

They were unable to run away as one had a broken leg and the other a prosthetic leg. Police said they were spotted at 3.30am in Takapuna when a patrol officer noticed a suspicious parked vehicle. The officer ran some checks, and discovered the number plates did not match the vehicle. Two men, one wearing a balaclava and the other a hood pulled over his face, then walked down the street to get into the car.



One was holding a screw driver. They were both arrested at the scene and a search of the car revealed a crowbar, hatchet and gloves under the front seats. A piece of timber door frame, which had allegedly been dropped by one of the men, was found to have been from a window frame of a nearby Michael Hill Jewellers, police said.

"Police can confirm that any possible getaway attempt was perhaps thwarted by the fact that one of the men had a prosthetic leg and the other had recently broken a leg." Both men were charged with attempted burglary and possession of instruments for burglary. The pair appeared in North Shore District Court on Thursday. The 40-year-old was remanded on bail to appear on September 18. The 44-year-old was remanded in custody to re-appear on Friday.