Police on hunt for home invaders

Police are convinced that two men who attacked an 84-year-old man in his home just north of Te Kao live in the same tiny community.

The victim was alone at his home, described by Houhora's resident police officer, Senior Constable Tracee Knowler, as isolated, when he answered a knock on his door some time in the early hours of Friday morning, probably at around 3.30am. Two men pushed their way into the house when he opened the door and assaulted him, possibly dislocating his left shoulder.

One of the intruders physically restrained the victim against a wall while the other searched the house, asking the victim if he had any "drinks." They were believed to have left empty handed. The victim roused a neighbour at around 5am and was taken to Kaitaia Hospital for treatment.

Senior Constable Knowler, who described such an attack on an elderly man as serious and abhorrent, said she was confident that the man's attackers lived in the area, and urged anyone with information, even if it was just a rumour, to call her at the Houhora station on (09) 409-8822.

"This is a tragic thing to happen at any age, let alone to someone who's aged 84," she said.

Meanwhile, she was continuing to make good use of Facebook as a means of obtaining information from the community, her recent successes including the identification of three people in connection with a series of donuts and burnouts outside the Houhora Big Game and Sport Fishing Club's premises in Pukenui. Her appeal for information resulted in her receiving more than 20 photos of the incident, which occurred during a private daytime function on August 24.

The three drivers handed themselves in rather than wait to be tracked down, each being fined $600 for operating a vehicle in a manner liable to cause injury, damage or annoyance.

Senior Constable Knowler commended the drivers for contacting her rather than making her waste her time and energy looking for them.