Crowbar attack shatters Briton's Bay dream

Englishman Paul Speakman came to the Bay to see if he should move his family here.
But, less than a day after he flew in, men broke into his campervan and savagely beat him with a crowbar in front of his petrified son in the dead of night.
Standing in the sunshine on Mount Maunganui's main beach, a swollen, stitched and bruised Paul Speakman told of the horrific ordeal he and his 12-year-old son Christian were put through at the hands of four attackers in the early hours of Tuesday.
They had arrived in Auckland on Monday after a 20-hour flight from London on a scouting mission to see if they and the rest of their family should move here.
They learned of the Bay from a documentary about another English family who had moved to Tauranga.
Soon after arriving in the country, they set off for the Western Bay in a rented campervan.
"I was feeling pretty tired from jet lag and needed to find somewhere to pull over and sleep," said the 46-year-old Mr Speakman.
About 10pm the pair came to a stop in the Athenree Gorge, near Waihi, in what they thought was a quiet and cosy layby off the main road. They quickly settled and fell into a deep sleep.
But within a few hours their Kiwi experience went horribly wrong.
"I was woken up by this tremendous banging and smashing," Mr Speakman said.
"Everything was pitch back and I had absolutely no idea what was going on."
Christian said he was too terrified to utter a word as three men, having smashed most of the van's windows, wrenched open the rear doors and clambered in.
"I was absolutely petrified," he recounted. "I didn't know what to do. It was just a nightmare."
Groggy and confused, Mr Speakman quickly became aware of a man standing over him aggressively demanding cash.
"I was still sleepy then I heard his guy saying, 'Give me your [expletive] money'."
It was then the crowbar blows came raining down, smashing into the side of his face and arm.
Covered in blood, confused and shocked, Mr Speakman handed over all the cameras, suitcases, travellers cheques and passports he could find strewn about the camper.
"We were trying to co-operate but nothing seemed to make them happy," he said.
The ordeal lasted about five minutes but it seemed like a lifetime for the pair, who thought their lives were about to end.
"One of the men said: 'If you don't [expletive] give me your wallet I'll take you down to the creek and drown the both of you,"' Mr Speakman said.
"I was in survival mode and all I could think about was the safety of my son. Survival was my only thought."
Christian was not touched but had to watch as his father tried to fend off the savage crowbar assault, while another assailant stood behind holding a tomahawk.
The pair were saved as a car drove past and lit up the campervan with its headlights.
Startled, the assailants bolted out of the van and fled in a waiting car.
Fearful of their attackers returning, the Speakmans fled into the Athenree Gorge bush, barefoot and clad only in their nightclothes.
With blood pouring from wounds in his face and barely conscious, Mr Speakman and his son ran through the undergrowth until they met the highway again.
"We were just happy to be alive," Mr Speakman said.
Soon a truck was flagged down and emergency services alerted.
Motorist Owen Chapman, of Tauranga, was driving home along the highway just after 2am when he noticed the smashed-up campervan on the side of the road.
"I then came across a truck with its hazard lights on about a kilometre down the road."
At first he thought the truck had broken down but he soon became aware of the horrific events that had just been played out in the otherwise picturesque Western Bay roadside.
The Speakmans were quickly taken by ambulance to Tauranga Hospital, where Mr Speakman received stitches to wounds in his temple and lower lip. Mr Chapman followed the ambulance.
"They X-rayed me and I have no apparent fractures. I've got to see the specialist again on Friday to get the all-clear," Mr Speakman said.
He said he was emotionally wrecked.
"I've come out here for a three-week preliminary scout of community life in New Zealand. Unfortunately we got the wrong end of the stick."
Mr Speakman, his wife Assunta and their five children have yet to decide whether New Zealand is the place for them.
"It's still early days right now and it is difficult to make future plans," he said.
However, Christian is more upbeat. "I still want to live here. I know it was just a one-off thing."
He also reckoned his brothers and sisters would love New Zealand.
Mr Speakman said a three-year stint living in the Channel Island of Guernsey had sparked his family's desire to seek a new home.
"Guernsey was lovely. The people were friendly and we figured that New Zealand was the same."
After their return in 2002 to the dull life of Trowbridge, a small town in southern England, the family looked at emigrating.
And, after listening to the accounts of other travellers, looking at brochures and seeing a BBC documentary about the Goddard family who moved to Papamoa from Coventry in 2002, the family decided on the Western Bay.
"We wanted that Guernsey lifestyle back and New Zealand came top of the list," Mr Speakman said. "In England you are treated like nobodies."
A qualified pharmacist, Mr Speakman was looking at possibly establishing his own business here.
Since coming out of hospital Mr Speakman and his son have been taken in by Mr Chapman and his family.
"I'm just disgusted this sort of attack could happen here," Mr Chapman said. "I'm embarrassed and it's let the whole of New Zealand down."
So what does Mr Speakman think of New Zealand now?
"We're just overwhelmed at the support we've received since the attack," he said. "The police, paramedics and Owen have all just been fantastic. Community spirit is why we wanted to come here."
Tourism Bay of Plenty, following an approach by the Bay of Plenty Times, will show Mr Speakman what the Bay is really like with a series of activities over the next week.
Meanwhile, Paul Goddard, who featured in the BBC documentary Get A Life, said the assault on his fellow countryman was disgusting and extremely unfortunate.
"Tauranga is just an amazing place to live and there is no comparison to the crime you get in England."
He said in England he had been burgled and had his car stolen four times.
Mount Maunganui Detective Peter Blackwell said he has been dealing with Mr Speakman since he was released from hospital and was helping him get everything sorted out.
Mr Blackwell said police had been inundated with offers of accommodation and messages of support from members of the public.
Rotorua Detective Sergeant Garry Hawkins described the attack on Mr Speakman and Christian as "a cowardly act of needless violence".
Four men appeared in Rotorua District Court on Tuesday relating to the incident.