Fears return as burglaries resume in Martinborough

Victims of a midnight burglary spree in Martinborough are calling for a disbanded night patrol to once again defend "a town under siege".
Martinborough resident Winifred Bull, 63, said she fell victim to burglars along with four nearby neighbours in a single evening only 11 days after a self-appointed night patrol in the town disbanded in the wake of a brawl involving two members and a group of teenagers last month.
Mrs Bull said her husband David was in Wellington overnight a week ago Tuesday and she was home alone with her two dogs, Poppy and Ruby.
She said the couple shifted to Martinborough about 12 years ago to a "somewhat isolated" house on the edge of town and the animals were bought as guard dogs, the first after home invaders killed Reporoa woman Beverly Bouma in 1998.
"The dogs heard something outside just before 11pm and started barking again after midnight when I was in bed reading."
Mrs Bull decided to ignore her dogs' reactions and found the next morning that burglars had taken the couples' gate off its hinges, smashed her car window and stolen her wallet from the vehicle.
"I don't feel safe. I knew about the huge number of burglaries earlier this year and thought the night patrol had solved the problem.
"But we were given a false sense of security. The burglars never went away," she said.
"I would really like to see the night patrol back on the beat because incidents like this don't really merit police attention. There is only one officer but there's also a definite 'underbelly' in our town.
"I just don't feel safe anymore. I'm afraid something terrible has to happen before something is done. How long do we have to live in a town under siege?"
A nearby neighbour, Peter Croft, said he also lost a wallet from his vehicle the same night that contained cards and a small amount of cash, as well as a set of keys.
He said his car was unlocked and parked only metres from where he and his partner were sleeping.
"It does seem ominous that this happened only after the night patrol stopped and it would have been better perhaps if they'd kept going."
Another nearby neighbour, Glenys Hansen, 66, said she also lost a wallet, cards, and a small amount of cash from her car, which was parked in an unlocked garage on her property on the same night.
She said there was an attempt made to use her bankcard the next day and like Mr Croft and Mrs Bull, the thefts were reported to police.
"The problem is getting through to police. I've been here since 1964 and old-style policing just doesn't work anymore. That time is gone. We need at least one full-time officer here around the clock.
"We depend more and more on visitors and tourists and they will stop coming if the town is not safe. So in the meantime, as a stopgap and as long as it's done sensibly, we need to have the night patrol reinstated."
The self-appointed night patrol was established in April after a spate of 45 burglaries in the town over 11 days and boasted more than 40 members who nightly walked, cycled or drove around the town on observe and report vigils until dawn.
A former patrol member, who declined to be named, said the group included couples, businesspeople and workers, as well as two men aged 70-plus, one of whom "is still out there at night walking a beat by himself".
Night patrol co-founder Trevor Hawkins would not comment on the likelihood of the group reforming and said some former members are still in the process of joining the police-sanctioned weekend community patrol in the town.