Invasion, then a heart attack
Manawatu’s team searching for a win
A woman is understood to have suffered a heart attack and is recovering in hospital after a home invasion in Levin.
A man broke into a house on Bledisloe St about 3.30am on Wednesday, a police spokesman said.
The people living in the house, a man and woman, asked the intruder to leave, but he refused and sat down in the lounge. However, until Friday, police have only said they were investigating reports of a burglary.
After a struggle, the intruder left the property, taking nothing with him.
It’s understood the woman resident suffered a heart attack and that the man in the home is physically disabled, with no legs.
The police spokesman said two residents were distressed by the incident and were taken to Palmerston North Hospital for medical attention.
A Midcentral DHB spokesman said the man had since been discharged, but the woman was in a stable condition on Friday morning.
Neighbour Angela Messenger said she and her partner woke after 3am to car doors closing and flashing lights from police cars and two ambulances, parked outside a neighbour’s property on Bledisloe St.
Messenger said two brothers, one who is physically disabled, lived at the address with their mother. It was believed their mother suffered a heart attack during the the break-in ordeal, she said.
Messenger said that in the past year neighbours had complained of break-ins, thefts and people being seen walking on their properties in the early hours of the morning.
‘‘I have two babies and I’m up in the middle of the night by myself. The thought that somebody is around in the early hours of the morning – it’s not nice.’’
She said there were a lot of elderly residents living on Bledisloe St, who may not be able to defend themselves if an intruder were to break in. ‘‘It is a bit of a concern.’’
A business owner on Bledisloe St, who did not want to be named, said his store was broken into about a year ago. Cigarettes were taken.
He said one of his neighbours, more than a year ago, had woken up to find three men playing pool in his garage after breaking in.
A few months ago, another neighbour had electronic items stolen, he said.
He said police needed to inform people of crimes happening in the area.
Police continue to investigate Wednesday’s incident.
The attack comes after a string of burglaries in the Horowhenua area in the past week.
Burglaries were reported at the Foxton Salvation Army store, Zen Hair hairdressing salon and the Foxton Beach Four Square on Saturday.
Burglars were captured on CCTV grabbing alcohol and Instant Kiwi tickets from the Four Square about 1.55am on Saturday.
A police spokeswoman said the raid at the Seabury Ave store involved three cars and a group of six people.
Police were unable to say if the three events were linked. Sheep, working dogs and bales of wool crowded Feilding’s main street in a celebration of all things rural.
The Manawatu town heralded the start of the Hilux New Zealand Rural Games yesterday with an array of events, including the ‘‘running of the wools’’.
The community turned out in force along the barrier-lined streets, while a mob of the area’s finest woolly residents made their way from the saleyards to the clock tower in Manchester Square and back.
The event is a dramatic celebration of the region’s farming heritage, highlighting the continued importance of the sheep industry to New Zealand’s rural economy.
Friday’s events began with two other street races before the running of the wools – a wool fadge team race and a man and mutt race.
The fadge race saw banter tossed back and forth between Feilding’s police officers and firefighters as they joined 10 other teams to fill a fadge (large sack) with wool emptied into the street before carrying it 50 metres to the finish line.
Other teams included the Manawatu Turbos forwards and backs, Manawatu District Council and Palmerston North City Council, army and air force, Palmerston North Boys’ High School, Feilding High School, Norwoods and FMG.
But it was Feilding police who took out the competition.
Constable Allan Mclean said it didn’t matter if they came second to last, as long as they beat the ‘fireys’.
‘‘We normally get to callouts before them anyway, so it’s nothing new,’’ he said.
‘‘We were giving them a bit of stick and throwing wool into their pile.’’
The Mitre 10 man and mutt race saw more than 20 of the region’s fastest young farmers fighting tooth and claw as they ran up and down the length of Manchester St in
‘‘How often do you get this many people in the main street? The ‘wools’ is possibly the most spectacular event, but the fadge racing has got a lot of interest.’’
Sam Strahan
gumboots with their dogs.
The first across the line was Hunterville shepherd Tom Nichol with his 5-year-old huntaway Beau.
‘‘He’s pretty good. He’s got a good callback. The secret was just keep running until the finish,’’ he said.
Beau was no stranger to racing, having competed with Nichol in the Hunterville Shepherd’s Shemozzle four times.
Rural Games trustee Sam Strahan said he was surprised by the number of people who turned out.
‘‘We’re in the agri-capital of New Zealand, but you would call this a success.
‘‘How often do you get this many people in the main street? The ‘wools’ is possibly the most spectacular event, but the fadge racing has got a lot of interest.
‘‘There’s over 100 people involved in the running of the event. It’s probably one of the most professional outdoor events in the country.’’
The Feilding events are a precursor to the third annual Rural Games, which have relocated from Queenstown to The Square in Palmerston North this year.
An array of events including cowpat tossing, speed milking, gumboot throwing, speed fencing and olive stone spitting will be held in The Square over Saturday and Sunday.