A solo mother feels violated and unsafe after vandals graffitied her Rotorua house, right under her 8-month-old baby's window.
The woman's house was one of about 10 properties on Sequoia Cres targeted in a graffiti spree last night.
Most of the graffiti was on fences but at least two houses on the street in the suburb of Owhata were tagged.
"It's terrifying, they actually came on to my property and were right under my daughter's window," she said.
"It's so invasive and upsetting. What's going to stop them from coming up the driveway or trying to break into my baby's window?
"I've lived here since 2004 and this is the first time I've felt violated and unsafe like this."
She said her 4-year-old son had been asking "why there were bad people around".
"I want him to feel safe, he shouldn't be thinking about that.
"It's like a personal attack. I own this house, what they've done will cost me money to fix. And now I feel like I have to do more to protect me and my family."
Her neighbour Noel Richards escaped the graffiti, but said his dogs were going "ballistic".
"It looks absolutely horrific. I'd say they've caused thousands of dollars worth of damage. These are good-quality fences they've ruined."
At the other end of the street Kimi Kapene and her partner spent the
afternoon painting over the graffiti covering their fence.
"It was just as well we had this paint here. It wasn't meant to go on the fence but my girls saw the tagging this morning, I don't want them to have to see it again when they get home.
"It's really disheartening to have this happen. When my oldest daughter pointed it out in the morning my heart just sunk.
"Then I saw the rest of the street - they've had a field day.
"We're all good people, it just sucks they had to do this, there's other things I'd like to be doing than cleaning up someone else's mess."
Another resident, who also wished to remain anonymous, also had his house tagged.
"It was just some mindless little buggers who saw an opportunity and took it," he said.
"They are getting a bit cheeky, it's the first time I've ever been tagged and having them do it on my house does brass me off."
All the residents who spoke to the Rotorua Daily Post said they had notified police.