'Idiot' blasts bay diners with fire extinguisher

ROGER MORONEY
The mood of fine alfresco dining on a balmy Napier autumn evening was literally extinguished for more than a dozen groups of diners on West Quay on Sunday night.
Just after 8pm a white van was driven along the waterfront restaurant strip, with one of the occupants leaning out a window blasting roadside diners with a high-pressure powder fire extinguisher.
``Idiotic,' was how Napier Police Sergeant Wendy Wright described the incident.
Restaurant and bar managers Tony Garrett, at The Gin Trap, and Simon Kerr, at Provedore, had slightly stronger views of the culprits which left them having to replace meals, apologise to stunned customers and embark on major clean-ups.
Mr Kerr had not been on duty when the incident happened but was called by a staff member and went straight to the scene.
``We had several diners there, including regular customers,' he said, adding that while none was affected by the powder spray their evenings were ruined.
``It cost us plenty because we had to re-do the food.'
He said the spray was powerful enough to enter the building through the front doors - leaving a fine coating of white dust.
One staff member described what they saw as ``a big white cloud'.
Mr Garrett said there were only a few diners outside at his restaurant who had effectively finished their meals by then, so the financial damage was minimal.
``But we had to have a clean-up.'
The van was driven the length of the strip, blasting as it went.
``I saw what looked like a cloud of smoke and thought someone was just driving crazy. You get the odd idiot driving along here throwing things ... we had a golf ball come in once,' Mr Garrett said.
Police were not amused and are appealing for information about the vehicle and its occupants.