Verdict pleases bashed tourists

A British man who was bashed about the head with a crowbar hours after arriving on holiday in the Bay of Plenty is delighted the four men responsible have been convicted.

Speaking from his home in Trowbridge, England, yesterday, Paul Speakman said he was pleased to hear his attackers had pleaded guilty in the Rotorua District Court this week.

"We've put it behind us now mentally but it's good to see that they are going to be punished for it," he said.

Mr Speakman and his 12-year-old son, Christian, came to New Zealand last month to see if the Bay was a suitable place to move their family.

But they were viciously assaulted as they slept in their camper van in the Athenree Gorge.

Despite their ordeal, the pair enjoyed the rest of their trip thanks to the generosity and support of the public, and Mr Speakman said yesterday the family were planning on coming to New Zealand.

"It's just a case of logistics now - selling the house, getting a job. Assuming that everything falls into place, there's a good chance we'll be there by August or September next year."

In court on Monday, four men admitted three charges of aggravated robbery. They were Shaun David Austin, 24, boner of Te Aroha, Hayden Lee Growden, 27, hydroblaster of Te Aroha, Ben Joseph Atkinson, 21, sickness beneficiary of Paeroa and Cameron Lee Ashby, 26 , labourer of Paeroa.

Two of the charges related to the Speakmans and another attack that same night on a Wellington man who was parked in a rest area between Rotorua and Tauranga.

The third related to the robbery of two overseas tourists in Tongariro National Park on October 1.

All four men were remanded in custody, for sentencing on January 21.

- NZPA