Bay of Plenty Times
  • Bay of Plenty Times home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport

Locations

  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Katikati
  • Tauranga
  • Mount Maunganui
  • Pāpāmoa
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Bay of Plenty Times

Be vigilant, elderly warned

By Lydia Anderson
Bay of Plenty Times·
12 Nov, 2013 12:30 AM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

The elderly are being urged to be careful after the recent spate of attacks.

The elderly are being urged to be careful after the recent spate of attacks.

Elderly Bay residents are being warned to be vigilant against intruders following a spate of vicious attacks on pensioners.

Age Concern Tauranga chairwoman Angela Scott said the elderly should not live in fear about the risk of being attacked.

"The chances of it happening are not great but that certainly doesn't mean to say we shouldn't take precautions."

Would-be intruders often used tricks, like asking for a drink of water or to use the phone, to get into a house.

Police are still searching for an offender after an attack on an 87-year-old Hastings woman, who was dragged into her home and sexually assaulted by a man who accosted her while she checked her letterbox on Thursday.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

A 77-year-old Papatoetoe woman forgot to lock her door and woke to an unknown man sexually assaulting her about 6.30am on Sunday. A 39-year-old Manurewa man appeared in Manukau District Court yesterday, charged in connection with the attack.

In a brutal home invasion in Pukekohe on Friday, an elderly couple were assaulted and tied up before offenders fled with cash and jewellery.

The incidents follow a string of attacks on elderly Auckland women in June in which an offender broke into their homes, tied victims up and assaulted them with a weapon before robbing them.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Mrs Scott urged Western Bay pensioners to get to know their neighbours.

"Unfortunately, nowadays you can't really afford to leave the house unlocked if you're way down the bottom of your garden.

"If you just slip out to say hello to a neighbour, you have got to leave windows on a security catch.

"Basically, we are really secure in our homes and it's important not to over-dramatise what's been happening."

Police were keen to establish neighbourhood support systems, she said.

Tauranga City Council asset co-ordinator Brent Sherriff said the city's 240 elder housing units all had deadlocks, front doors that could be seen through, and windows with security stays.

He could not recall any incidents at the flats, besides cars being "gone over" in a carpark in Greerton earlier this year and petrol being siphoned.

New residents were given a briefing on security, including what to do if they were going out.

"They're well and truly inducted into security," he said.

The recent attacks have prompted calls from police and politicians for communities to step up and support their elderly residents.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Bay of Plenty Times

'Knew he was gone': Truck driver describes cyclist he'd hit lying on ground

01 Jul 07:00 AM
Bay of Plenty Times

Customs seizes 150kg of cocaine bricks marked 'good luck' in Tauranga

01 Jul 05:00 AM
Bay of Plenty Times

Zespri teams up with Dame Lisa Carrington

01 Jul 03:30 AM

There’s more to Hawai‘i than beaches and buffets – here’s how to see it differently

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

'Knew he was gone': Truck driver describes cyclist he'd hit lying on ground

'Knew he was gone': Truck driver describes cyclist he'd hit lying on ground

01 Jul 07:00 AM

A judge says the truck driver wasn't at fault, as the road markings lacked clarity.

Customs seizes 150kg of cocaine bricks marked 'good luck' in Tauranga

Customs seizes 150kg of cocaine bricks marked 'good luck' in Tauranga

01 Jul 05:00 AM
Zespri teams up with Dame Lisa Carrington

Zespri teams up with Dame Lisa Carrington

01 Jul 03:30 AM
Pedestrian hit by car in Tauranga

Pedestrian hit by car in Tauranga

01 Jul 12:10 AM
From early mornings to easy living
sponsored

From early mornings to easy living

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Bay of Plenty Times e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Bay of Plenty Times
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP