Reward posted in Masterton vandal hunt

Vandals have wreaked havoc at a Masterton furniture store, breaking 13 windows, presumably with a piece of wood found at the scene.

The damage occurred on Thursday night at Bryans Furniture, next to McDonald's, in Chapel St. Several windows were also broken at a brick building next door.

Bryans Furniture owner Bryan Stott said he was determined to catch the vandals.

"I would like to offer a $100 reward for information leading to the apprehension of the culprits," he said.

The trouble has been linked to people congregating in the carpark outside Bryans Furniture and McDonald's.

This is not the first time vandalism has happened in the area. Several windows were broken at Bryans Furniture just two weeks ago.

Mr Stott added that as the district council owned the carpark, it should bear some responsibility.

"It's the Masterton council's carpark. Where's the council?" he asked.

"They don't look after their own property."

It is not only Bryans Furniture that has had problems with the carpark.

McDonald's lost almost all its Lincoln Rd-facing display windows to vandals several years ago, said restaurant manager Denis Burling.

A CCTV camera had been mounted above the entranceway to the new Lambert's Cycles premises across the road on Chapel St about 50m from the restaurant. The camera had been previously mounted on a nearby lamp-post in Lincoln Rd.

However, Mr Burling was uncertain of the imaging capability and viewing angle of the police-monitored camera on Chapel St.

"We have our own camera focused on our drive-through and I would imagine the camera over the road only looks at that side of the street."

McDonald's franchise owner Sitendra Singh said there had been no significant incidences of vandalism or violence at the Masterton restaurant or its carpark in the six months since he took over.

He said security guards were posted at the restaurant on Friday and Saturday nights.