Tourists attacked while camping in Waikato

Two French tourists were punched and attacked by men who said they owed 'rent'. Photo / Thinkstock

Two French tourists camping overnight in the Waikato were violently attacked after they were accused of not paying "rent" to their attackers.

The couple - who had parked their camper van on a rural road near Raglan - were woken in the middle of the night by a man doing a haka.

Five intoxicated males then accused the French couple of staying on private land and demanded payment.

Detective Sergeant Mata John of the Ngaruawahia CIB said the situation then escalated.

"The French male has then been punched and an attempt was made to drag him out of the vehicle before the couple had a variety of items taken from them and their attackers drove off. Though not resulting in serious injury, this is type of attack is concerning given the time it happened and the sense of isolation the victims would have felt."

Ms John said this type of antisocial and violent behaviour could have "far reaching consequences" and urged members of the public to come forward with information on the five men believed to be involved.

"The Waikato and in fact the rest of the country prides itself in being a safe, family friendly place to visit and the Police want to ensure we do our part to maintain that hard earned reputation.

"To that end, the public can help as well. We have two main offenders, one a Maori male described as being of solid to fat build with black hair and a goatee beard about 175cm tall who was wearing a black and white T-shirt."

The second offender was described as a male Caucasian who was also of solid to fat build, about 178cm tall with short blond hair and wearing a green hooded sweatshirt with white writing on it and a green cap.

- nzherald.co.nz