Boy racers punched a 68-year-old man in the head, smashing his hearing aid after he photographed them sliding all over a gravel road near a popular Northland beach.
The man and other residents living in McAuslin Rd, just north of popular surf beach Sandy Bay, say the assault rose out of their desperation to capture evidence of the errant drivers who plague their short stretch of road at this time of year and during the busy summer season.
Their concern is children or people riding horses from a trekking business will be injured, or worse, killed, by the hoons.
The man who was assaulted, but did not want to be named, said the only way to stop the "mongrels" is to seal the road.
"It's a perennial problem ... the mongrels use this road as a drifting course. There are children in the area and what makes it more dangerous is there is a horse trekking business and quiet often there are novice riders. It's frightening to think what could happen," he said.
"It must be known to all the boy racers this is a road for racing and sliding."
The road is about 1 kilometre long and has two hair-pin bends and two sweeping corners.
"The simple solution would be seal it. It wouldn't be a problem and probably save the council thousands in road repairs and maintenance."
About 4.30pm on Sunday the man had heard a vehicle speed up and down the road twice. But on the third sweep, the man got in his own vehicle and parked it across the bridge leading to the main road.
"They were yelling and swearing at me to move my car," he said.
He tried to reason with them and say they were endangering lives. But the driver of a black 1996 Subaru Impreza, a Pakeha male, pushed him and then punched him in his right ear, smashing his hearing aid and grabbing his cellphone which the resident had been using to take photos.
Another Pakeha male, the front seat passenger, also got out of the vehicle, while a third male remained in the car. One of the boy racers then tried to start the man's vehicle, but a 58-year-old woman arrived and intervened.
The man said he dragged the boy racer out of his car and got his phone back after it was dropped on the ground.
He moved his vehicle and the boy racers fled towards Hikurangi. The man was left shaken and angry by the ordeal.
A neighbour said she was scared and the incident had been a result of frustration as boy racers on the road had been an ongoing problem and residents had previously sent photos of offending cars to police but nothing had happened.
"We are desperate to get help."
During the past four years the problem had increased, she said.
The woman said they had considered creating their own speed bumps to slow drivers down but a long-term solution was needed before someone was killed.
Police say they were continuing to investigate and the man had supplied them with a clear photo of the offenders and their car. Police advised against confronting errant drivers in similar situations and urged people to ring 111 immediately.
Whangarei and Kaipara police area prevention manager Senior Sergeant John Fagan said the details such as a description of the vehicle, people and the vehicle registration number were crucial. Also being able to supply the emergency services with an exact location, especially in rural areas was also important.
He said photos or video could be taken if people were not putting themselves in danger.
"They can observe if they can do so safely because ... we don't want to add further to the situation. There is no point in getting injured by confronting them. Let the police do that," Mr Fagan said. "You never know who the person is in the car. Observe and call 111."
By Kristin Edge of the Northern Advocate
