Quick-thinking resident praised

Police are praising the actions of a Rotorua resident after he helped nab three people for an alleged burglary.

A Matipo Ave resident, who did not want to be named, said he called police on Monday afternoon after noticing three people on his property.

"I saw three characters in the backyard. They were just standing there."

Police dogs were used to find the three people in Westbrook after the resident phoned police to report suspicious activity.

Rotorua police Sergeant Jason Owen said they arrested two teenagers, a male and female, and an adult man after a quick search on a Westbrook farm.

He said a local resident had done the right thing in reporting the suspicious activity on his property, which helped police react quickly.

Mr Owen said, to his knowledge, the group had allegedly run from a property after being disrupted by a resident and they did not have any stolen possessions on them when they were caught.

The resident said he was told by one of the people on his property they were in the wrong property and left.

He said they had left an empty petrol container in the backyard, so he called police as a precaution.

"They tell you to call 111 and we decided to do it this time," he said.

When The Daily Post arrived in the area, a policeman could be seen walking a young woman in her teens down a hill on the farm behind Matipo Ave.

At least three police cars were present including a police vehicle carrying the dogs.

Some residents on nearby Pukehangi Rd were standing outside watching the hunt, and said they hadn't heard anything but came outside when they saw police cars. The police's youth aid section will be involved with the two teenagers charged.

 - By Gary Hamilton-Irvine of The Daily Post