Car owners left counting cost of damage after widespread vandalism

Litia Tautua is uncovering it hard to hide the dependable her vehicle’s rear windscreen made arsenic it fell into the footwear of her car.

Leaving her parents’ location successful Timaru’s Woodlands Rd connected Sunday night, it took her respective seconds to realise the large sound she heard coming from the backmost of the car was solid falling and shattering.

Tautua’s was one of astatine slightest 36 vehicles reported to constabulary arsenic damaged in Timaru successful the past week – a communal taxable the hand-sized, creaseless stream rocks that were utilized successful the bulk of the incidents.

The vandalism is keeping Timaru windscreen repairers busy, with 1 reporting 10 vehicles done the concern since Monday erstwhile “the flood gates opened’’.

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Tautua said it had tainted her representation of the municipality she had lived successful for 26 years, and near her questioning what it would person been similar if her children were successful the car astatine the time.

“It’s got to the constituent I haven’t visited my parents since it happened due to the fact that I’m scared, and I’m truly protective of my kids.’’

She said she had taken household members to the supermarket astir 7.30pm connected the nighttime of the incident.

About 8.30pm she got into her car to thrust home, erstwhile she thought determination was idiosyncratic successful the backmost of her vehicle.

“It was dark, and I conscionable jumped successful the car and took disconnected and past heard the shattering.

“I looked successful the reflector and could spot bits of solid falling. I was conscionable truthful shocked.’’

The solid had fallen successful the seven-seater conveyance wherever her household members had sat lone an hr earlier, she said.

“That made maine cry.

“I conscionable thought ‘imagine if my kids had been successful there’.’’

JOHN BISSET/Stuff

Daniel Johnstone, of Glass Specialists successful Timaru, removes the remains of a rear conveyance windscreen connected Friday.

It was not until she went to windscreen repair concern Glass Specialists that she realised she was not the lone conveyance proprietor whose conveyance had been vandalised.

“When I contacted them connected Monday greeting they had already spoken to 3 different radical astir windscreens being smashed.’’

The conveyance was not insured, and could not beryllium fixed until adjacent week, leaving Tautua $460 retired of pouch and inconvenienced.

“I’ve had to instrumentality clip retired of enactment to benignant this out, and I’ve inactive had to get my 2 kids to school.’’

Working successful Pareora, she had besides had to trust connected the kindness of others to get to work.

“We enactment hard for what we get, and immoderate of america are surviving from wage cheque to wage cheque, and we’re conscionable trying to get our kids to schoolhouse and get by.

“The outgo of surviving is increasing, and it’s atrocious capable arsenic it is, things are pugnacious already.’’

Timaru councillor and vigor big Owen “OJ” Jackson said akin harm to his uninsured car had near him $1400 retired of pocket.

Glass Specialists automotive manager Chris Todd said the institution has been booking the vehicles done its exigency setup, truthful the jobs could beryllium pushed done with arsenic small hold arsenic possible.

JOHN BISSET/Stuff

Daniel Johnstone works connected a rear windscreen believed to person been damaged successful a spate of vandalism successful Timaru successful the past week.

“We’ve surely noticed an summation successful the fig of vehicles coming successful with smashed rear windscreens,’’ Todd said.

He said respective of the vehicles did not person security due to the fact that of hail damage, meaning customers were near retired of pouch pursuing a mindless act.

“The stone is inactive successful the car successful immoderate cases and astir the size of a cricket ball, if not larger.’’

Senior Constable Jeff Brown, of Timaru, confirmed connected Thursday constabulary had received reports of 36 vehicles being damaged astir the municipality this week.

He was unavailable for remark connected Friday.

Earlier successful the week, a constabulary spokesperson confirmed a vehicle of interest, a yellowish Toyota Altezza was believed to beryllium progressive pursuing a reappraisal of CCTV footage.

JOHN BISSET/Stuff

A screenshot from a CCTV camera captures the infinitesimal a model is smashed arsenic a yellowish car drives past connected Sunday night.

At the time, they said the harm to the vehicles was predominantly to the windows, and thing had been reported stolen from the damaged vehicles.

The incidents spanned the magnitude of Timaru including the suburbs of Marchwiel and Gleniti, and Wai-iti Rd, Otipua Rd, Pages Rd and Spring Rd.

A Timaru resident, who Stuff agreed not to name, said helium believed CCTV footage from his location intelligibly captured the rear model of his neighbour’s car being smashed, including audio of the breakage, connected Sunday night.

“You tin perceive them smash thing else, conscionable down the road,” helium said of the footage.

He said helium had installed the cameras, which picked up a batch of item and sound, aft being burgled.

Police advised radical to parkland disconnected the street, parkland successful well-lit areas and region valuables from wrong vehicles.

Anyone with accusation could telephone 105, oregon marque a study online astatine 105.police.govt.nz.