TOP STORY: Turf wars in Flaxmere

REON SUDDABY
Machetes, bottles, spades and poles are being used as weapons by brawling groups of Flaxmere residents in a long-running series of disputes.
Residents say if the conflicts get any worse, someone will be killed.
Three violent fights have broken out in recent weeks in Oban Street. One former resident of the street, who did not want to be named, said the battles stemmed from an incident at the end of 2004, after a burglary at one of the homes on the street.
The woman, who this week moved her family out of the street because of the violence, has no doubt what the eventual outcome could be.
"I can see somebody getting killed," she said.
An air of hostility has hung over the neighbourhood since the alleged burglary, with fights between residents of Oban Street, and those from nearby Ramsey Crescent, Ramsey Place, Kilkee Place and Holmes Place.
The tension erupted on August 9 when the first fight broke out. The woman said a group of around 15 people came down Oban Street, armed with poles, spades, sticks, knives and bottles.
A violent fight broke out between the two groups of residents, with the brawl lasting for an hour and a half. One man received a knee injury and another, 20-year-old Jason Helmbright, was lucky to walk away with only a superficial cut after being attacked from all sides during the fight.
"There were people all around me, stabbing me with weapons," he said.
The second brawl took place the following day, and lasted for about two hours. Again, the participants were armed with bottles, sticks, spades, poles and even a machete, but no-one was injured.
During this fight, a child thought to be about four years old was seen throwing bottles at the start of the melee.
As tension mounted, residents began fighting again on Tuesday night, when a 15-year-old boy was allegedly punched in the back of the head.
Residents say the teenagers living in the area are now trading threats at nearby Flaxmere College.
Two Ramsey Place residents are to appear in the Hastings District Court on September 1 in relation to the incidents. Eighteen-year-old Kane Michael Johnstone is charged with assaulting Mr Helmbright with a fence batten.
Mr Johnstone's neighbour, Daniel Paul McMeiken, 17, is charged with having an offensive weapon, a spade, in a public place. The charges against both men relate to the brawl on August 9.
Hastings Police Senior Sergeant Ross Smith urged residents of the area not to take matters into their own hands. Police did not take sides, and if any resident in the area wanted to make a complaint, they should provide police with a name and a description of what the alleged offender was wearing, as well as what they had done.