A Waikato solo mum of three has been left without a car after thieves drilled a hole in her fuel tank and drained all the petrol, she says.

Rahema Lingman, 25, of Hamilton, was in tears after what she says shows the “extreme lengths” some people will go to amid high fuel prices.

On Tuesday, Lingman, who is a pre-nursing student, parked her Nissan Murano on Pembroke Lane at 12.30pm, as she does daily for school.

Four hours later, she returned to a “strong smell” of petrol lingering in the air, but didn’t think much of it.

Moments after driving off, she began to smell the fumes inside her car.

“Literally only five seconds” later, she checked the fuel gauge – it was empty, despite having $100 worth of petrol earlier.

The hole that someone drilled in Hamilton resident Rahema Lingman's car fuel tank to steal all her petrol.

“The light was on, it was completely drained, and I had nowhere to stop at that point,” she told the Waikato Herald.

She drove to Anglesea A&E, where she discovered petrol leaking from underneath the vehicle.

Lingman approached a bystander in the parking lot, who fortunately happened to be from a tow truck company. He found a hole in the fuel tank.

“It’s quite a hole,” she said.

“It looks like they must have drilled into it maybe one or two times.”

She is now without a car and faces a $1300 repair bill, with only third-party insurance.

A quote from the mechanic confirmed her fuel tank was damaged, and “someone had drilled a hole in the tank”.

She found it crazy that one tiny hole could cause so much damage and cost so much to fix.

“It’s going to be freaking hard getting that money together,” Lingman said.

Rahema Lingman, a solo mum of three, is left without a car after thieves drilled a hole in her fuel tank and stole her fuel. Photo / Michaela.behindthelens

“I’m left with this huge bill, struggling to get my kids to school and kindy, and then also finding a way to get myself to class every day.

“It sucks.”

She believes her car may have been deliberately targeted, as it was parked by trees and less visible from the road.

“My car was the only one targeted because another friend from my class was parked there, but her car was fine.”

Yesterday she went around local businesses seeking information, and someone reported smelling petrol from 1.30pm.

That was only an hour after Lingman parked her Nissan.

“I feel like someone was almost watching me or planning to do this because I only parked my car there at 12.30 and came back at 4.30.”

Police said they had received a report of theft on Pembroke Lane around 6.30pm, and are making inquiries.

Lingman said she feels lucky to be alive.

“If I had to continue driving, and somebody threw out their bloody cigarette butt in front of me, [that could have been so dangerous],” she said.

“That really freaked me out. I was honestly in tears.

“I literally could have not made it home to my kids that day. [I’m] thankful I’m safe.”

But Lingman fears fuel theft would worsen.

“People are going to extreme lengths, aye [sic]. I think they’re going to start coming onto people’s properties [to steal fuel] if it gets that bad.

“It’s horrific.”

Malisha Kumar is a multimedia journalist based in Hamilton. She joined the Waikato Herald in 2023 after working for Radio 1XX in Whakatāne.