Residents fight crime with fencing
Residents of Westville in Durban sprang into action when a critical piece of fencing was stolen....
|||Durban - Westville residents are taking no chances in the fight against crime, even closing fences and pathways that could be used by criminals.
Volunteers belonging to the Chiltern Neighbourhood Watch in Westville north sprang into action on Tuesday when part of the fencing and barbed wire along the M19 near the Rodger Sishi Road on-ramp was stolen.
It had been stolen between 2am and 3am, said Neighbourhood Watch spokesman, Justin Aboud. The fence closes off part of the New Germany Nature Reserve which leads to the residential area.
"Normally, unsavoury people enter and exit into Westville north. About 40 to 50 metres of wire mesh fencing with barbed wired was stolen between our patrol shifts," he said. "The fence was last checked at 2am. When the next patrol went on duty, they discovered it had been stolen," he said.
The watch also found a roll of fencing at the side of the road, leading Aboud to believe that the patrol team had disturbed the thieves.
"We basically sent out an alert for assistance in the Neighbourhood Watch. The response was overwhelming. All sorts of material was donated and the fence was replaced," Aboud said.
Stolen fencing normally made its way to scrapyards, Aboud believed.
This was the second time in six weeks that the fence had been stolen.
Westville resident Stephen Clark praised the Neighbourhood Watch for their efforts to repair the long gap. Another resident, Ronald Clancy, posted on C-3 Community Crime Co-operative Facebook page that he was proud to stay in a community that "cares".
"Fabulous response by all involved, from the donation of fencing through to labour and refreshments. The call went out at 8am on a public holiday, and by 10.30am we had the fencing replaced," Clancy wrote.
Terry Hunter echoed the same sentiments in his post. "Good to see we are a community of brothers in this crime scourge we fight," he wrote.
Daily News