A MYSTERIOUS BENEFACTOR in Paris is spreading love, cash and hair appliances along a rugged stretch of New Zealand.

Police are baffled by at least four packages that have been sent from different Paris addresses to residents of the South Island’s sparsely populated West Coast. They contain either a hair dryer or hair clippers plus a sum of money – either one hundred New Zealand dollars or one hundred euros.

Two of the packages came with identical handwritten notes: “Thanks for being a true friend.”

The packages have been received over the last two weeks.

“We are hoping it’s a random gesture of goodwill,” said police senior sergeant Allyson Ealam. “We have no cause to think there is any criminal connection.”