Neighbours at war in Opua: Digger driver tears up driveway beneath woman's feet

The digger incident marked the climax of a dispute over a driveway in the Far North. Video / Supplied

A Far North woman can be heard screaming in a video that shows her neighbour digging up a concrete driveway that cracks and falls away beneath her feet.

The incident earlier this month marked the climax of a dispute over the driveway at the Paihia Rd property near Opua, the woman's landlord Ben De'Ath claimed.

However, the digger operator John Robinson - who owns the neighbouring quarry - claimed the driveway had been constructed unlawfully and that the woman in the video endangered herself by coming onto his land.

John Robinson ripping up his neighbour's driveway at Opua. Photo / Supplied

De'Ath rejected claims the driveway was unlawful and says his tenant's life had now been "turned upside down", given she and her family had to move out because they felt unsafe and because they could no longer get their car in and out of the property.

Robinson can be seen in the video using a digger to demolish the concrete strip.

However, he suddenly turns the digger, sending its bucket arcing towards the property's female tenant, who was standing nearby filming.

"Can you move back please," he says, to which the woman replies: "No".

The concrete driveway was totally destroyed. Photo / Supplied

He then wheels the bucket down to continue digging, before the driveway appears to crack and pull apart beneath the woman's feet, sending the camera shaking and her cursing in shock.

"Ah s*** ... you get away" she screams.

"I asked you to move back - do it," Robinson replies.

Robinson now faces a charge of wilful damage over the incident after police were called and arrested him. He is due to appear in Kaikohe District Court next month.

De'Ath said it was only luck that his tenant wasn't seriously injured or worse.

But Robinson told the Herald the tenant in the video endangered herself.

Police interview John Robinson after he dug up the driveway. Photo / Supplied

"I've got witnesses who were sitting there that will say I wouldn't have gotten within 10-15 metres of her," he said.

"I was only turning the digger to her to tell her to move off because they were trespassing on my land."

When pressed about why he kept working after telling the woman to move off, given the concrete appeared to later dangerously crack beneath her feet, Robinson said he didn't know she was there and she was responsible for her own safety given she had walked onto his land.

He said he "wasn't the villain".

Robinson said it was a former owner - who initially bought the land later sold to De'Ath - who "unlawfully" constructed part of the driveway on quarry land.

That had meant Robinson could not get vehicle access to his quarry. He also couldn't free up a watercourse that used to run through the quarry grounds, he said.

However, De'Ath insisted the "three square metres of driveway" in dispute was jointly owned as a right of way and that he had the land titles and official documents to prove it.

He said he'd tried without luck to communicate with Robinson through lawyers so as to come up with an appropriate legal arrangement.

"'That driveway was put there illegally and I'm gonna demolish it', were basically his threats for six months - and then he followed through with the threats the other day."

De'Ath claimed a series of incidents ultimately reached a head earlier this month when Robinson dug up the driveway in the incident captured on video.