A Pretoria woman was robbed in her Pretoria West home this week while being fast asleep.
Mary van Staden said criminals broke into her home in Luttig Street on Tuesday night.
“I did not wake up once and they were in my room. I do not understand how the noise did not wake me up,” she said.
Van Staden said the robbers stole items such as laptops and cellphones.
“They locked the man living in my yard in his home and he was trapped.”
Van Staden said she believed the criminals came from a railway bordering their property.
A gate was the only thing separating Van Staden’s property from the bushy railway.
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“They cut the locks of the gate to come in,” she said.
Residents living in the vicinity expressed concern over the safety in the area, saying Luttig Street had become a danger zone.
They said they dared not leave their homes after six in the evening.
“It is very dangerous here with the people living and hiding near the railway,” Van Staden said.
“We have asked the police to patrol the area and Metrorail to clean the railway by cutting the tall grass, but we get no help from either of them.”
She said people were also being robbed in the street.
A woman was recently throttled on her way home from work.
“We called the police to come and help but they did not react,” Van Staden said.
“I once went to see the Pretoria West police station commander about the crime in the area and she told me that they patrolled the area but do not see any crime.”
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Another problem plaguing residents were criminals using the railway as a hideout.
This posed a danger to their children, they said.
Crime activist of the area, Eric Cordier, said the railway has been a problem for many years.
“Any place that becomes overgrown with bushes becomes a hiding place for criminals,” he said.
He asked someone to help clean the railway.
“People cannot keep on living in this constant fear,” he said
An enquiry about the problems the residents are experiencing had been sent to the Pretoria West police.
Metrorail could not be reached for comment.
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