Hoons' campaign of terror: Fires and concrete missiles

Andy Sinclair with a concrete block vandals used to smash the back window of his car. Photo / Warren Buckland

Andy and Linda Sinclair are fed up with "hoons" creating a burn-out pad outside their gate and damaging their property.

After a four-month lull in what has been an unnerving series of incidents where the driveway and grass berm of their Greenmeadows property has been targeted for burn-outs, they thought it may have come to an end.

That was until Saturday night and early yesterday morning when the burn-out attacks returned and led to something more destructive and worrying.

One of three large concrete blocks that Mr Sinclair laid along one end of the four-metre wide strip of grass out the front after last October's unwanted "visit" was picked up by two of the three people in the car, carried up the driveway, and hurled through the rear window of his Nissan Primera.

Skid marks from a car that regularly marks the driveway and grass verge outside Andy Sinclair's house. Hawke's Bay Today photograph by Warren Buckland

It wasn't the first time one of his vehicles had been targeted by the hoons involved. About a year ago someone let the tyres down on his utility vehicle and damaged the air caps.

"Another time they came up the drive, got under the ute and cut the wiring," Mr Sinclair said.

"It's been happening on and off for the past 18 months and they're not targeting anyone else in the street."

There had been times over that period when it all quietened down, but just when the couple thought the burn-outs had come to an end they would be visited again - late at night.

The driveway section of their Forward Rd property has been left with smears of rubber across it while the grass berm section has been repeatedly torn up.

He and neighbours had called the police on several occasions but the offenders had not been located.

It was after last October's incident that Mr Sinclair decided to try and halt the burn-out raids by placing three large and heavy concrete blocks across the edge of the grassway.

He also installed a camera, and while some images it recorded after the latest incidents were blurry, they were being closely examined by police.

The camera also picked up what appeared to be a light-coloured car leaving.

"It looks like the back end of a Holden."

Just after 11pm on Saturday the car made the first of two visits - spinning its tyres across the driveway and grass before quickly being driven off.

"You could still smell the rubber in the air," Mr Sinclair said.

Then, around 1am, they returned - this time removing the concrete blocks - throwing one through the rear window of Mr Sinclair's car and the other two into the middle of the road.

A neighbour heard the commotion and called police but the offenders made the usual quick getaway.

However, several neighbours were now on a sort of "watch alert", along with Mr Sinclair, as they too wanted those responsible caught and dealt with.

"Everybody is really upset about it," Mrs Sinclair said.

• Anyone with any information about the incidents can call police on 831 0700 or the confidential Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.