Frederik Avenue residents sitting ducks for criminals
It’s a simple issue, the alley must be closed during the night and opened during the day for the children who walk to school.
Two Eldoraigne residents fell victim to crime in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
Resident of Frederik Avenue, Henk Welthagen said he was awoken around 03:30 by something and went to the bathroom. He believes the criminals left in a rush when he got up.
He got up again around 05:00 to go and make coffee when he learned that they had been burgled.
“We have a security door closing off our bedroom. When I opened it, I saw two rooms’ lights were on. I noticed the safety door in front of our son’s bedroom was kicked open where access to our house was gained. Luckily he slept over at a friend’s house and was not home,” Welthagen said.
“The kitchen’s wooden back door was also forced open, although the burglars could not manage to get through the safety door there.”
He said the burglars got away with clothes, shoes, a knife collection, sound box, three laptops, as well as two laptop bags. And also with the content thereof, including the keys to my shop and that of my bakkie, which were in one of the laptop bags.
“Our dogs, a Fox Terrier and Pit Bull Terrier, sleep in our bedroom, hardly a metre away from where they entered, and did not make a sound, which I find very strange,” he said.
Welthagen said he reported the incident at Wierdabrug police station.
Wierdabrug police spokesperson Sergeant Divine Nkuna confirmed a case for house-breaking and theft was opened and being investigated.
A stone’s throw away from the Welthagen’s residence also in Frederik Avenue, Lydia Bezuidenhout said there was an attempted break-in around 03:10 when their alarm went off.
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“On camera we saw a man running away from our house. Monitor Net responded quickly and patrolled the bottom half of Frederik Avenue,” she said.
Marcus Margot, another resident, who patrols the area with the local CPF, said criminals used the back fences of the residences to gain access.
“They gain access to the neighbourhood via the alley in the bush area connecting Old Johannesburg Road with Frederik Avenue.
““We often patrol that area and see people camping under trees. They have sleeping bags and pots. They sleep there during the day and invade the area during the night,” Margot said.
“It is confirmed by the footage on cameras that we installed in the area. It’s a simple issue. The alley must be closed during the night and opened during the day for the children who walk to school.”
Ward 69 councillor Cindy Billson said not only the alley, but the entire crossing was a burning issue in the community.
The alley connects Frederik Avenue with the R101 Old Johannesburg and Mopani Roads crossing, right in front of Hoërskool Zwartkop and Laerskool Hennopspark further down the road.
“The unkept area with vegetation, taller than a human, in itself poses a huge safety threat to the community. It is especially a source of great concern for parents in the area whose children walk to school,” Billson said.
“We are awaiting feedback from the provincial department of roads and transport in this respect, as well as on maintenance and safety of the entire crossing.”
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