Shock as homes burgled after landslip
A Porirua resident was shocked by thieves who burgled his neighbourhood after it was hit by a landslide.
Plimmerton resident Michael Bennington came home from work to find he had been burgled on August 15.
Then, to make things worse, he learned his neighbour was also targeted after the home was evacuated because of a landslide the night before.
Rough weather caused surface flooding and small slips in the area on August 14, but one of the worst incidents was a giant tree that came down in a barrage of mud, cutting off a property and completely blocking Cluny Rd.
Bennington wondered if the thieves had heard there were evacuations and decided to take advantage of their misfortune.
‘‘I wasn’t affected by the slip, but the neighbours have had 48 hours of madness from someone knocking on the door saying, ‘You have to get out’, and then having to find somewhere [to stay], and then they come back to find stuff stolen.
‘‘I think it’s impacting people today, knowing that sort of thing happens.
‘‘A lot had been focused on a whole lot of trees and dirt slipping on the road.’’
His neighbour did not wish to comment.
Bennington said he was probably burgled between 8am and 11am after he left for work the following morning, which was ‘‘crazy’’ considering the large number of people working to fix the damage down at the road at that time.
Someone then unsuccessfully tried to use his credit card to make a purchase on a gaming website around midday.
He believed at least three houses in the hilly area were targeted by thieves, who gained access through back windows.
‘‘We’re off the main road, and the only access is up the driveways ... you would have to make an effort to go to the house.’’
Police said they were making inquiries into two burglaries at homes in Cluny Rd.
‘‘One home was broken into and had items taken overnight on Monday.
‘‘The second was broken into and had items taken between 8am and 7pm on Tuesday.
‘‘Police are working to find the people responsible.’’
Porirua City Council chief operating officer Tamsin Evans said geotechnical and structural engineers had again inspected the site after more heavy rain later in the week caused further earth movement.
Staff planned to finish clearing debris from the slip by the end of last week.