Gang set-to in Marton

THE WORST problem in the district on New Year's Eve happened in Marton, Wanganui's Constable Aaron White says.
The night was fairly quiet in Wanganui with about five arrests made and at least one drunk driver caught.
But a unit of Wanganui police had to go to the Rangitikei town of Marton to assist with "a big disorder from a group of people".
The problem was gang-related.
Yesterday evening some kind of stand-off was taking place in Fergusson St, a cul-de-sac off Henderson's Line, on the outskirts of town.
Mr White said it was to do with retaliation for the Sunday night incident.
Gunshots had been heard on Sunday night, but no firearms were found in a search.
A dog handler from Wanganui was standing by, and Marton police described it loosely as "the monthly gang set-to". Police were not welcome at the scene, but were keeping a watch on developments.
Dierdre Siegel, who has lived a few houses away for two and a-half years, said she thought she heard three to five shotgun blasts on Sunday night.
They didn't surprise her at all.
But she said that, living in a rural area this was fairly common, and the noises could have come from a farm.
She hadn't noticed anything major happening yesterday and said New Year's Eve was fairly quiet in town.
Fergusson St had police up and down it a lot, she said.
She heard noises like dogs barking and children screaming and carrying on, but very seldom adults.
"Occasionally you will hear men and women arguing, but very seldom do you hear the violence."
The street was a bit like a low-key Highbury (a Palmerston North suburb which has had gang-related problems), she said. Many of the houses were rented and the residents tended to be transient.
Apart from what happened in that street, the neighbourhood was really quiet, she said.