‘Trouble often comes in threes.' You couldn't blame the Wharton family of Hahei for agreeing with this statement.

First came Cyclone Pam's bad weather, then a wheel fell off the family's caravan near Tairua where they had to leave it overnight, only for someone to steal it from the roadside.

The Wharton's family caravan was stolen from the side of the road on the night of March 15. They are now asking for the public's help to find their treasured caravan. Photo: Supplied.

The Wharton's need a little luck to come their way, and are asking for your help to track down their treasured caravan.

Family matriarch Annabel Wharton says the large, 16ft Trail-Lite caravan, which was painted cream with a black stripe and front, is 'not simply just a caravan” to her family.

'My parents originally owned the caravan and they purchased it brand new back in 1979,” explains Annabel. 'It's been in our family that long and two years ago my mother said we could have it.

'So we shipped it up on a truck from Invercargill and have used it many times to go camping for holidays or weekend, and when it's at home the children stay in it.”

On March 15, and only 20 minutes from home, the caravan's wheel buckled and fell off after a bearing broke along the Hikuai Flat, at around 8pm.

With the rain increasing in intensity, and the family concerned about flooding, they enlisted the help of a local farmer and his tractor who helped tow the caravan 10 metres up the road.

'We arranged for a tow truck company to pick it up the next day as [the tow truck driver] was worried about the high winds forecasted for that evening,” says Annabel.

'But when we showed up the next day, the caravan had been stolen overnight.”

Flabbergasted is an appropriate word to use, as the family have 'no idea on earth” how the thieves stole the caravan.

Annabel doesn't believe it could have been towed very far without the wheel snapping off again, so she's guessing the thieves used a trailer.

'It's such a large caravan, and no-one can really believe that someone drove past, saw an opportunity and took it,” she adds.

The caravan is so highly valued by the Whartons that they are now pleading for its return or for information that will help them to track it down.

It's so much of a treasured family heirloom that Annabel says they will offer a reward to anyone who can help them find the caravan.

She adds: 'Yes, we will offer a reward but only if the information leads us to our caravan.”

'We are sort of losing hope a little bit, but you never know do you? It's a big thing to hide, and someone must know something.”

If you have any information that will help the Wharton Family find their stolen, 1979 Trail-Lite Caravan, please email Annabel at: whartonz@ihug.co.nz