OMOKOROA MAN INSTALLS FOUR-CAMERA CCTV RIG TO MONITOR LETTERBOX, NOTHING ELSE
The letterbox has received two flyers and a rates notice since August.
An Omokoroa retiree has installed a four-camera CCTV system trained only on his letterbox. The driveway, front door, and shed are not covered. The shed contains what he described to The Daily Yarn as "the good tools".
Homeowner Kelvin Ashworth, 71, said the system had been running since August. It had so far captured the postie, a Bay Advocate delivery lad, and "a cat that had no business being there". Asked whether the shed might warrant a camera, Ashworth said the shed was "a separate matter".
The motivating incident was a missing Placemakers catalogue in July. "I know it arrived. I saw the van. Next morning — gone. That's not on."
A neighbour two doors down, Raewyn Cottle, said a small red light on one of the cameras blinked all night into her spare room. "I wrote him a note. He filmed me putting it in the letterbox. Then he came out and offered me a copy of the footage."
This reporter can confirm, in a professional capacity, that four cameras on one letterbox is a piss-take. My mate at the Tauranga station called it "an inefficient allocation of assets". The shed remains unmonitored.
Ashworth is considering a fifth camera to cover what he calls "the blind spot" behind the letterbox.
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Reader Letters
tauranga_tony
Mate, some people have too much time on their hands! Four cameras for a letterbox? It's a bloody piss-take if you ask me. I thought Omokoroa was laid-back but here we are, policing for missing catalogues. Meanwhile, Kelvin's 'good tools' are an easy grab. Priorities, eh?
wayne1987
The light's blinking all night? Buy some curtains, Raewyn. Problem solved!
couchgremlin
Lol, rooted idea.
Garry (Halswell)
Back in my day, we just left tins of fruit on the kerb if they went dodgy. No cameras needed! If someone pinched them, we assumed they needed them more. Now it's paranoia central.
ropeable_dave
@Garry, tins of fruit? Times have changed, mate. People care more for catalogues than their third-rate canned fruit now!
MumOf3_BayofPlenty
Why bother with the letterbox when the shed's got the goodies? Bit of an oversight there, Kelvin. This is going to be one expensive cat-cam otherwise!
Deb_from_Katikati
Ironically, his house insurance probably doesn't cover letterbox surveillance. Insurance companies will certainly take the piss.