MASTERTON CENTRAL MAN INSTALLS CCTV TRAINED SOLELY ON LETTERBOX, MAKES TEARFUL APOLOGY VIDEO

Guys. Guys. I never thought I'd have to make this video. deep breath So as some of you already know, a man on Chapel Street has installed a CCTV camera pointed exclusively at his own letterbox. I filed the story. I platformed it. And to my community, I am so sorry.

The man, Rex Colville, 61, mounted the camera under his eaves on Tuesday. He told a neighbour it was there to catch "whoever's been folding the Farmlands catalogue in half". When I first heard about it, I thought of the pier at New Brighton in 1974. Back then a bloke could leave a letterbox alone for a fortnight and lose nothing worse than a bit of sun. That was nostalgia. Nostalgia is a form of harm. I'm doing the work.

A neighbour, Delwyn Frost, said the camera also captures "about a metre either side", including her driveway and, on windy days, her washing. "I asked him what he was filming for," she said. "He said 'evidence'. I said 'evidence of what, Rex'. He said 'we'll know when we see it'." And I hear her. I really hear her. pause

Rex, contacted at his gate, said the camera had already "paid for itself" by catching a courier "looking at the letterbox in a funny way" on Thursday. He has since compiled 41 hours of footage. None of it contains a crime. He has offered to show it to Masterton Police "whenever they're ready". Police have indicated they are not, and will not be, ready.

I've sat with this. I've journaled. My editor told me to "file the yarn and stop crying in the kitchen". I'm growing as a person. So from me, from Barry, from the whole Wairarapa desk — I am so, so sorry. Rex has since aimed a second camera at the first camera, in case someone tries to steal it. Links below for my new course on accountability.