‘You lose faith in people’
A Timaru woman who volunteers most of her spare time to help others says she was knocked unconscious by an unknown assailant outside her back door on Saturday night, leaving her on edge and questioning her trust in people.
Koha Shed owner Diane Turner is nursing injuries including two black eyes, smashed front teeth, a broken nose, a lump and cut on her head, concussion and dizziness after the attack just after 9.30pm.
Since setting up the koha shed in her King St garage in September, Turner has given away hundreds, if not thousands, of donated goods to people grateful for the items they would not be able to afford to buy themselves.
She juggles the charitable act with her job as head cleaner at Timaru Girls’ High School.
Turner said she and husband, Wayne, had returned home and had just finished moving some donated furniture in the garage when she decided to go into their house a few metres away.
Her husband was putting his car away in the other garage at the same time.
Turner said as she walked towards the house, she heard a noise and sensed someone behind her before she lost consciousness. She said she has no memory of the actual assault and found it bizarre that someone would do that to a person who spends most of her time collecting, sorting and giving away donated goods to those in need.
The security light, which is on a timer, had turned itself off while Turner’s husband was in the garage and he said he remembered thinking his wife must be in the house.
Moments later he headed towards the house and noticed a shadow on the gravel path. He said he found his wife lying face down and turned her over to find her covered in blood.
It took about 30 seconds to a minute for her to come to, he said.
‘‘I don’t know how long she was there for,’’ he said.
She spent the rest of the evening vomiting and went to Timaru Hospital on the Sunday to be checked out. A head scan revealed a broken nose and concussion.
Turner said she was annoyed she would now have to have two weeks off work in the lead up to Christmas. Though on ACC, she will lose 20 per cent of her wages, and it cost $80 to replace her teeth.
The couple have lived in the house for four years, in what they describe as a nice neighbourhood, and have never had any problems before.
The couple are installing security cameras and would be locking the gate from now on.
The shed will be shut for the next week as Turner recovers from her injuries.
‘‘I still want to help people but I’ll just be looking at everyone funny . . . you lose faith in people.’’
However, she still plans to host 30 family members for Christmas dinner.
The incident has been reported to Timaru police.