Woman working from home alone has scary experience: 'I froze'

A Bethlehem resident was frightened when a strange man entered her home. Photo / NZME

A woman working from home alone was frozen in fear when a strange and "scary" man came into her home without knocking, she says.

Bethlehem resident Olivia Fairhurst was working from home on Wednesday morning when she heard a voice call out a greeting from what sounded like her dining room.

"I usually have the sliding door at the back of the house open for air and sunlight," Fairhurst told the Bay of Plenty Times.

"I was working from home on my laptop when I heard someone say, 'hello', from the dining room.

"I thought it must be someone I knew who had just walked in."

But when Fairhurst walked into her dining room she was greeted by a complete stranger, she said.

The man looked, "scary", Fairhurst said.

"He was holding a broom and had a backpack on and he had one foot inside the house."

Fairhurst said the man had not knocked and would have had to walk through a gate and down the side of the house to get to the sliding doors where he was standing.

"I froze. I was home alone and there was a strange guy in the house."

Fairhurst said the man started talking about cleaning her windows.

"He had this long spiel he'd obviously memorised."

After Fairhurst told the man she did not need the windows to be cleaned, he still did not leave, she said.

"He was looking around the room and I thought he might be scoping out the house for a robbery.

"He must have seen the kitchen because he asked me for a Coke for hydration and for a smoke."

Fairhurst gave the man a Coke but declined his request for a cigarette, she said.

"When you're in a situation like that you don't know how you're going to react until it happens. My response was to be polite. I didn't want to aggravate him."

Fairhurst said she was clearly uncomfortable with the situation but the man did not seem to pick up on the strangeness of the situation.

"He was still looking around. He seemed out of it, erratic and desperate and he asked question after question. He was inside for maybe two minutes.

"Then he just walked out without saying anything."

Fairhurst said she watched the man walk down the road towards another house.

"When he left I felt scared. I work from home every day. [I work] around the side of the house, so I'm out of the public view."

Fairhurst decided to post about the incident on the local community Facebook group so that she could help people stay safe.

"You want to be safe in your own home and I think the reason I posted about it is so that people are aware."

Fairhurst said she had been running through worst-case scenarios in her mind.

"You never know how people are going to respond. If he walked into someone else's home and their reaction was to fight or aggravate him it could end badly."

Still, Fairhurst said she felt empathy towards the stranger.

"Hopefully that guy gets the help he needs."

Police have advised anyone with similar experiences to call 111. Photo / NZME

A New Zealand Police spokesperson said a report had been received about the incident.

"We have had a look into it and it looks like there are no further lines of inquiry currently."

The spokesperson said Fairhurst did the right thing by contacting the police.

"If someone comes onto your property without your permission, and you feel comfortable to do so, ask them to leave and stay off your property."

The spokespersons said if someone felt unsafe in that situation they needed to move to an area where they did feel safe and call 111 immediately.

"If you ask a person to leave your property, and they refuse to do so, we also advise you to call 111.

"In situations where you may be out in the garden or in the garage, we advise that you keep your house locked while you are not inside.

"Always ensure that any outbuildings like sheds and garages remain locked when you are not using them."