Bach owners troubled by repeat break-ins and burglars who stay

An elderly Taranaki couple have been left angry and upset after their bach was broken into twice in seven months with one of the burglars even sleeping in their beds.

Chris and Val Meier from Ngaere, South Taranaki, have owned their bach at Urenui beach for 27 years and have many fond memories of their time at Urenui.

But their memories have been tainted after theirs was one of 14 baches broken into at the holiday area in February and then again last week.

In February not only did they suffer the stress of having their TV and barbecue and other belongings stolen, but whoever broke in stayed for at least one night in their bed. ‘‘We were going up to the bach for the weekend, opened the door and there was just a mess everywhere,’’ Val said.

‘‘It was such a horrible feeling to have someone break in and invade your space.

‘‘Anything that they didn’t pinch needed to be re washed.’’

After the burglary the couple installed extra security measures by adding two deadlocks to the internal doors.

But the bach was broken into again last week.

This time two televisions, a portable gas heater, alcohol and Chris’s screwdriver set, the third set he’s lost to burglars, were taken.

‘‘We couldn’t touch anything because of forensics, but it’s not a nice feeling walking away from your house when it’s left in that sort of state,’’ she said.

The person who did it obviously knew the area well, Val said, because everyone drew their curtains tightly while they were away and it was impossible to tell what was in the baches from peering through windows.

Val said the whole process had been incredibly stressful for the couple, and while the bach was insured, there was still all the hassle of dealing with insurance and finding receipts and proof of purchases to help replace the stolen items.

Val said the Waitara police, who the couple dealt with during the ordeal, had been amazing. .

‘‘They would ring us at home and check up to see if we were OK and kept us updated with what was going on,’’ she said.

Despite the burglaries the couple said they have no plans to leave their bach and were instead trying to look on the bright side of their bad luck.

‘‘Well least they didn’t take the barbecue this time,’’ Val said.