"Do you want a broken finger?" That was the no-nonsense question put to a 14-year-old caught with others banging on doors to wake up householders in a Canterbury township during the early hours of the morning.

Confronting the teenager was an 82-year-old Lincoln resident, armed with a butcher’s steel (used for sharpening knives) and wearing what he had been sleeping in – underpants and a black singlet – after he and his wife became the target of the teenage antics.

His wife, of a similar age and wearing a dressing gown, had also gone outside to see what was going on.

The couple were asleep in their Lincoln home when they were woken by “three mighty bangs” on the front door about 2am on a recent Sunday.

"We got a hell of a start. I jumped out of bed and had a look outside,” the 82-year-old said.

Nobody was there.

About 15min later there were more bangs. This time on the garage door and making “a hell of a noise”, he said.

The outside security light was again activated. His wife went to the kitchen and looked out the window while he put his slippers on.

He armed himself with the butcher’s steel and opened the door to find three people outside.

Two of them ran off but a third was still close by and was stopped in his tracks with a ‘I mean business command’ from the 82-year-old: “Come here!”

The teenager complied.

"I said to him: ‘Do you want a broken finger?’,” meaning with the butcher’s steel.

Replied the teenager: “Please don't do that.”

The 82-year-old said he had “a talk” to the teenager, who told him he was 14.

“I asked him what school he went to. He said he was home-schooled. He apologised; he was a hell of a nice little bugger. And that was it.”

The teenager told him they ha​d done the same thing to other houses on Southfield Dr that night.

“It does frighten you,” the 82-year-old said.

He had not reported it to the police. About six months ago, another property was targeted on Southfield Dr. That time police were called and teenagers were apprehended.