A Salt Rock resident is reeling after his mother and sister were tied up by two men, threatened with pangas and locked in a bathroom last Wednesday.
David Anthony, who moved to Salt Rock almost two years ago, believes that something needs to be done about the number of crimes in the Salt Rock area.
Anthony’s mother Louise and sister Janine had come down from Johannesburg and were staying a short drive away from his house in Karafu complex.
“My family usually visits every year and they stay at a place on Hewitt Drive,” said Anthony.
At around 7am last Wednesday, Louise woke up and went through to the kitchen.
She did not realise that there were intruders in the house so they caught her completely by surprise.
She was dragged through the passage as she screamed for help. Janine came out of her room to see what was happening and suffered a similar fate.
They were then tied up and threatened violently while the intruders went through the house. They then locked Louise and Janine in a bedroom.
“They saw a gardener through the window and signalled to him for help. He SMSed me and I rushed home to help them,” said Anthony.
“What aggravates me is that people come down here and spend a lot of money in the area. Crime is destroying the residential property value and the town’s potential as a tourist attraction.”
Anthony no longer wants to buy a house in the area. He believes that Salt Rock needs to look at other measures of crime prevention and become more safety conscious.
“If it has to come to it, Salt Rock needs boom gates and closed neighbourhoods like those in Joburg. The biggest focus of the festive season should be the safety of people.”
Despite all of this, Anthony was happy with the help of Umhlali SAPS.
“The detective has been great, he has phoned to follow up several times.”
Salt Rock Neighbourhood Watch chairman, Martin Parry, is concerned about these types of crimes.
“It is a particularly worrying trend but we are working together with the police and security companies to track down these perpetrators,” he said.
However, he feels that a solution like boom gates would be difficult as many roads in Salt Rock lead to public beaches.
“Guys that are planning house break-ins are attracted by easy ways to escape. They also watch houses to see which places have reasonable security.”
As a consequence of the increase in crime, the neighbourhood watch membership is growing and they are putting a big effort into tracking down these criminals.
“It is unfortunate that we have to go to such measures. We appeal to people to be alert and if they see something suspicious, they should contact the neighbourhood watch immediately,” he said.
Second attack
Last week Friday, George Jacobs was stabbed at a staff function at a house on Colwyn Road in Sheffield. Two burglars wearing balaclavas locked Jacobs and the guests upstairs.
Luckily, his friend Malcolm Gouws arrived a short while after the incident and was able to get help.
Jacobs was stabbed twice in the chest and was admitted to hospital.
