Police are investigating two separate burglaries that occurred in Christchurch early Wednesday morning.

At around 2.10am, an alarm was triggered at a property on Withells Road in Avonhead. During the attempted break-in, a fog cannon was activated, forcing the offenders to flee the scene in a hurry. In their rush to escape, they left behind a number of items, which police will forensically examine.

Just 15 minutes later, at about 2.25am, police received a report that a car had been driven into the front of the Kwik Kiwi Diner on Parkhouse Road in Wigram. CCTV footage shows several offenders carrying a cigarette cabinet out of the store.

Enquiries into both incidents are ongoing.

Police are urging any witnesses or residents in the area with CCTV footage to contact 105 and quote the event numbers listed below. If anyone is offered cheap cigarettes or has information relating to these burglaries, they are asked to call Police on 111 or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

• Withells Road event number: P062970988
• Kwik Kiwi Diner event number: P062971031