Dad hands taggers over

ZWaipu will show the world a newly-scrubbed face when the 140th Caledonian Games held annually on New Year's Day get under way in the town tomorrow.
And it will be a happy face now that three young men have owned up to carrying out a graffiti attack defacing 27 of the town's shops and commercial buildings on Sunday night and Monday morning.
The trio - aged 14, 18 and 20 - were taken to the Waipu police station to confess by their parents, who had been sickened and ashamed to learn their boys were responsible for tagging the buildings and scratching shop windows.
The 14-year-old will be dealt with through the police youth justice system. The other two have been charged with wilful damage and are expected to appear in the Whangarei District Court next week.
Yesterday, all three were removing or painting over graffiti on shops in Waipu's main street and apologising to occupants of buildings they had tagged.
Relatives kept them hard at work and made sure they paid attention when older Waipu residents sternly rebuked them for the tagging.
"They got heaps of stick," a businessman told the Advocate.
The mood of people in Waipu yesterday was far lighter than the anger and resentment expressed on Monday morning after the discovery of the destructive tagging, which had been expected to cost thousands of dollars to remove.
Waipu Business Association chairwoman Judy Guy said: "It's wonderful they have owned up and their fathers have brought them down to repair the damage. What more can you ask?"
Waipu police Senior Constable Martin Geddes said the taggers were from Whangarei and were in Waipu on holiday staying with relatives. "The parents were horrified when they found out what their boys had done," he said. "But Waipu people are thrilled they have been caught and manned up. Taking responsibility is part of what the community wants to see."
The father of two of the young men told the Advocate he hadn't got them to come forward immediately to confess because he had feared irate Waipu residents could "string them up."
"Our family is devastated by this. Waipu is our home town. My ancestors were on those boats that brought in the first settlers."
The father held a forefinger and thumb 2cm apart and said: "I feel about this big being here in the street while the boys clean off the graffiti. I know every second person who passes by.
"But it [the clean-up] has to be done. There is no way this should be swept under the carpet."
The young taggers weren't the only ones getting stuck into removing their daubs.
Pomare Pou, from the Whangarei District Council's graffiti removal contractor Te Ora Hou's D'Tag unit, offered expert advice.
Graffiti Doctor Jim Embelton came north from Hamilton to provide free help, removing several tags and promising a protective seal for the iconic Scots mural on the wall of the Waipu Butchery if it gets repainted.
Glassmasters Chris and Thomas Bennett expected to remove glass etching damage at the Waipu Library at no charge today and have offered businesses with damaged glass a discount.
And Waipu pharmacist Tony Solomon said yesterday that other "amazing" offers of clean-up assistance had come in from Auckland, Whangarei and locally.
"We've been able to tell them we don't need them now. Half of the town is already cleaned up. Waipu looks alive and happy and ready for the Caledonian Games."