All-night party causes havoc
Caversham residents are outraged about an all-night party which took place at the Pick n' Pay parking lot on Friday, June 26.
AN all-night party which took place in the Caversham Glen Pick n’ Pay parking lot on Friday, June 26 and involved spinning and revving of cars, firing of guns and screaming, left residents terrified.
One of the residents, Jacqueline van der Westhuizen, said the most frightening thing about Friday night was that they were firing guns from midnight to 5am.
“It sounded like a war; hundreds of gunshots were fired. I am terrified of the thought of drunk people shooting their firearms in a residential area,” she said.
The morning after this noisy occasion the streets were covered with broken bottles, which is hazardous for motor vehicles.
The roads and pavements from Red Point Church in Caversham Road, in front of the Pick n’ Pay and past the clinic and pharmacy, were littered.
Van der Westhuizen feels something should be done, “This is getting very serious. These people also drove home in that state at six in the morning.”
Another resident, Chane Langford, believes more could have been done by the police to disperse the crowd.
“The Metro Police, SAPS and Dog Unit were there, but the crowd was too large for them. They could have used water canons to disperse the crowd.”
Pinetown SAPS said nothing was reported and recorded concerning the incident.
Residents and the Ashley Neighbourhood Watch held a meeting on Saturday morning to share their grievances.
Justine Bosse, chairman of the Ashley Neighbourhood Watch, said, “Parties of this magnitude should be controlled, permission should be given and residents should know about them before-hand because they become their problem when they are left with the mess to deal with.”
Anil Gopichund, general manager for KwaZulu-Natal Pick ‘n Pay, said, “We are happy to say that the landlord of the centre in which our Caversham store is situated has agreed to put fencing around the area. Although Pick ‘n Pay was unaware of this incident, we are happy that residents will not have to put up with antisocial behaviour at the centre in the future.”
