Dropped nails serious threat

RINGING AROUND: Billie-Jean Te Tau, who works at Dan's Auto Shop, has had a puncture herself and wants to warn others.PHOTO/FILE

Masterton police are investigating a spate of flat car tyres in the area which they say are likely to have been caused by someone purposely dropping Z nails on roads.

Billie-Jean Te Tau, who works at Dan's Auto Shop, was organising a repair of a client's tyre through Beaurepaires, when it was discovered it was caused by a Z nail, a type of two-spike nail used for securing floor joists.

Miss Te Tau, from Masterton, had received a puncture from a Z nail herself, and, when she contacted various tyre repair businesses around Masterton, she found that in the last couple of weeks there had been about 27 punctures involving Z nails.

Firestone had dealt with about 10 punctures from the nails, Beaurepaires a dozen and Goodyear about five, she said.

"I am very concerned because it's dangerous...if someone doesn't realise they have a puncture and they do a manoeuvre the car can't handle they could hurt themselves, or someone else.

"And if these [nails] were to become dislodged they are like missiles, someone could also walk on it. Things like that really annoy me, especially if someone is doing it deliberately because it's such a cowardly thing to do and for what reason? it's just stupid," Miss Te Tau said.

She said Z nails were hard to see and drivers were unlikely to know they had run one over until their tyre went flat.

The areas where people have reported possibly running over them are the Kuripuni shopping area, around Pak'n'Save, and by the Colombo Rd bridge.

Miss Te Tau said she thought someone was probably dropping the nails deliberately but that it could also be someone losing them from the tray of a vehicle, not realising they were falling off.

"It's a bit of a mystery, it really would be good to get to the bottom of it."

Senior sergeant Jymahl Glassey said police had received numerous complaints over the last two weeks about Z nails causing punctures and that it appeared someone was "purposely depositing Z nails in the path of vehicle traffic".

Mr Glassey said there was real risk someone could be injured, or killed, if a crash happened as a result of a puncture. "It is important that police are able to establish the cause of these occurrences and ensure safety on our roads."

Police would like to hear from anyone with information and ask they call the Masterton Police Station on 06) 370 0300 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.