Pāpāmoa residents are being “terrorised” by people throwing rocks at their homes, causing thousands of dollars of damage and smashing a window, which “sounded like a bomb” as it broke.

Every night this week, victim Brendon Burchell has been sitting outside his home “freezing” until midnight, hoping to catch the rock-throwing perpetrators he believes are using the nearby council walkway as an “escape route”.

A pensioner living nearby says she was left shaken and facing a repair bill after someone threw a rock through her bathroom window at about 11.30pm.

The pair are now calling on Tauranga City Council to install a security camera and lighting at the walkway to deter the vandalising behaviour.

‘Four big stones thrown at my house’

“It’s always been a bit of an issue, but I think more so recently, things have escalated.”

On June 28, Brendon says a Matariki event was held in Pāpāmoa, attracting many people to his neighbourhood and using the walkway.

That night, “I had four big stones thrown at my house”.

He says two hit his van parked in his driveway and caused about $4000 worth of damage as the bonnet needed replacing.

Other stones hit his garage door also causing damage, he says.

He plans to make an insurance claim but will have to pay a $700 excess.

Since Matariki, he says his home has been targeted three or four more times by people throwing rocks.

Brendon says it feels like he's being “terrorised”.

‘Not worth living here anymore’

Brendon - who lives alone - says he's “not a high earner” and the financial toll is “definitely starting to mount”.

“From Monday, all of this week, I’ve sat outside on a chair … behind my fence waiting to see if these guys return.

“I just literally can’t afford this anymore. It’s got to that point where I’ve had to take drastic measures to stop this from happening.

“I’ve sat out there until about midnight each night literally freezing.”

He says he's “driven by paranoia that another stone will come flying through my window”.

Brendon says he has called the police each time a rock had been thrown at his property.

He's reached the point where “I just want to get away from this”.

“This is not worth living here anymore.”

The walkway in Pāpāmoa connects Percy Rd and Santa Monica Drive. Photo / Megan Wilson.

Brendon says he had security cameras installed on Thursday, which cost $2500.

He says the main reason for installing them is because, in his view, “the police [are] just not going to be quick enough to get these guys”.

He also believes police should have policed the Matariki event to deter crime.

Brendon says he will like the council to install a security camera and lighting at the walkway, which was “pitch black” at night.

“I think it would go a long way to deterring this sort of behaviour.”

Brendon says motorbikes and motorised scooters are “racing up there at times”. People also loiter in the walkway and leave shopping trolleys on his lawn.

He wrote to former Tauranga Commission chairwoman Anne Tolley to voice his concerns.

Her reply - sighted by the Bay of Plenty Times - says it's not the council’s policy to light walkways and “there is no allocated budget to do this”.

Brendon says he has also recently written to just-elected mayor Mahé Drysdale.

Window ‘shatters’ after stone thrown

A neighbour, who did not want to be named for privacy reasons, says her bathroom window was broken by someone throwing a stone on Sunday at about 11.30pm.

She was watching TV when she heard it.

“It sounded like a bomb,” says the pensioner.

A Pāpāmoa resident's window was broken by someone throwing a stone through it.

“That’s a safety glass – and it just shatters.”

The incident left her “shaking” and she called the police who went to her home.

She estimates the cost to fix the window will be about $500 to $600. She will have to pay for it because her insurance excess os $1000.

She agrees a camera and lighting should be installed at the walkway.

Council and police respond

A council spokeswoman says its team has been contacted once about the walkway between Percy St and Santa Monica Drive.

Reports of antisocial behaviour are a police matter, says the spokesperson.

The council was also asked if it will install a security camera and lighting at the walkway.

A police spokesperson says the police received five reports on July 21 relating to stones and rocks being thrown at properties in the Santa Monica Drive area.

Officers attended at the time; however, there are no available lines of inquiry, say police.

Subsequently, the police received a further report from one of the residents who had initially been affected, outlining a further occurrence, say police.

“In response to these incidents, police have conducted additional patrols in the area.”

-Bay of Plenty Times.