According to the Ballito Crime Watch copper pipe thieves are back in Ballito and targeting empty homes during the day while people are at work.
They have reported that two houses in Townsend Road had all their pipes and taps stolen last week.
“Never leave your home without making sure that your alarm is set,” said Ballito Neighbourhood Watch’s chairman, Rob Hardstone.
“It is clear that thieves are targeting empty houses and we urge residents to be more vigilant and look out for their neighbours because even if your neighbour forgets to set their alarm. You can still help prevent the crime by quickly responding if you notice anything amiss in their house,” said Hardstone.
Hardstone said he could not stress enough the issue of making sure that the alarm was set before people let their homes.
“We often hear cases where a person says they were just running to the store for five minutes and thought it was okay to leave the alarm unarmed but five minutes is all the time the criminal needs. We pay so much for those alarms, the least we could do is put them to good use because they guarantee us a quick response from the security company and the police,” said Hardstone.
Umhlali SAPS spokesperson captain Percy Buthelezi said even though copper theft from homes were not common but the fact that they were happening was a cause for concern.
He said where people could, he urged them to use plastic pipes and echoed Hardstone’s sentiments about neighbours looking out for each other.
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