AN uMhlanga homeowner has praised the quick-thinking of her neighbours and a gardener after they foiled a break-in at their home on Ridge Road on Thursday. The resident, Laura (she did not want to disclose her surname), said the suspects had first appeared outside her home half an hour earlier before breaking in and seemed to be scoping the property out.
“Then around 11.30am the gang returned and this time pushed the intercom to our property several times, for around 20 seconds they tried. When no one answered, one of the men then got out of the car and successfully derailed the gate to our home (see video below). Thankfully the gardener who initially spotted the men earlier on, shouted for help. His employer then pressed their panic button which scared the gang off. My gardener was at the back of the house and hadn’t realised the suspects had damaged the gate or gained access to the property,” she explained.
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Laura also praised the work of the Ridge Road Community Policing Forum for their quick intervention.
“I actually found out my property had been broken into through the road’s WhatsApp group. The gardener’s quick reactions and the support of the Ridge Road community, including Braam Fouché, has been absolutely great. People were also able to network to get my electronic gate fixed within two hours. I’m grateful for all of their help and support,” she said.
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Braam Fouché of the Ridge Road CPF said the incident reflected how effective community policing can be.
“We implemented layers of security of which the neighborhood WhatsApp groups are an integral part. Neighbours often report suspicious incidents on the groups to which our patrols and guards respond. Everybody is just that bit more vigilant.”
The CPF and the local resident confirmed that they would be handing a token of thanks to the gardener next week for his role in foiling the robbery.
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