Couple’s $500 fence crash bill
A Taranaki couple have been left with a $500 bill after an out-ofcontrol driver smashed through their garden fence, missing a power pole by inches.
Graham and Barbara Corbett were having lunch on Saturday at their home in Mangorei Rd, New Plymouth, when there was a knock on the door.
‘‘I was just having my sammies,’’ Graham, recalled.
‘‘Next thing there’s neighbours at the door and cop cars out there and this joker must have came round Branch Rd out of control and he actually went into the fence backwards.
‘‘I never heard anything,’’ the retired farmer said.
The fence was destroyed and the driver sped away. A neighbour followed but was unable to get the registration number.
‘‘He was all lined up for a getaway and just booted again,’’ Graham said. ‘‘One of the guys who lives up the road followed him for a bit and his bumper was dragging on the ground.
‘‘The number plate was on the bumper and he couldn’t read it.’’
Barbara said there had been a problem with boy racers in the past few days and the police were aware of it.
The couple were thankful that the driver didn’t do any damage to their home, which they have only lived in for a year.
The couple said they had already arranged for someone to repair the fence but were disappointed they were having to make an insurance claim during the holiday season.
‘‘I’ll have to pay the insurance company 500 bucks for excess. Right on Christmas,’’ Graham said.
A police spokesperson said they were still investigating the matter.