Bay of Plenty Volunteer Coastguard has 1200 litres of fuel stolen

A Bay of Plenty Volunteer Coastguard unit has had 1200 litres of fuel stolen.

The Waihi Beach Volunteer Coastguard said it had to use a contingency fund to replace the amount stolen.

In a post on Facebook, it said four people had stolen from a volunteer organisation and put them at risk of being unable to rescue someone.

"To the four scum bags that thought stealing 1200 litres of fuel would have no consequences, I hope you can live with the possibility of a fatality due to not being able to fuel up our rescue vessels.

"We will identify you we now have to use our contingency fund to replace this stolen fuel."

It is offering a reward for information leading to a conviction for the four people responsible.

The coastguard's co-president Jacqui Paterson said an investigation was underway with the police.

"We've had a bit of bad luck but we want to keep it in context and not overreact, the police are investigating and we've contacted our insurers."