Latest news with #MāngereBridge
RNZ News
17-05-2025
- RNZ News
Suspected vandalism behind internet outage affecting 950 Auckland homes
A map showing the suburbs affected by the internet outage in north Auckland. Photo: Supplied / Screenshot A body representing internet users says it's concerning vandalism could be behind a massive internet outage in Auckland. The Network provider, Chorus, has been working around the clock after 950 connections were severed late Thursday. About 150 users had been restored so far. Crews found six cables damaged and think it was done on purpose. Technology Users Association chief executive Craig Young said important businesses were in the affected area. He said he was surprised at the possible vandalism because fibre cables didn't carry value for offenders like old copper lines did. It comes eight months after a similar internet outage in Auckland affected about 3000 customers. In that outage in Māngere Bridge and Onehunga, Chorus also blamed vandalism. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
12-05-2025
- RNZ News
Gang member charged with arson at Māngere Bridge funeral home
No injuries were reported in the arson at Just Funerals in Māngere Bridge last month. Photo: Googlemaps Auckland Police have arrested a patched member of the Mongrel Mob gang, after an arson at a Māngere Bridge funeral home last month. The fire broke out at Just Funerals on Kirkbride Road in late April, with the building suffering minor damage. No injuries were reported. Officers searched four properties linked to the Mongrel Mob in South Auckland, arresting a 30-year-old patched member and charging him with arson. He is expected to appear in Manukau District Court on Tuesday. Police also found a pump-action shotgun and ammunition at one of the addresses. They charged two other gang members with breaching bail and another with an unrelated assault. "What was of real concern was that there were children present at the address the firearm was located at," Detective Senior Sergeant Mike Hayward of Counties Manukau CIB said. "However, overall, this is a pleasing outcome in that we have been able to catch up with the alleged offender and take another firearm out of circulation in the community." A 34-year-old man has been charged with unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition, and is also expected in court on Tuesday. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
09-05-2025
- RNZ News
South Auckland residents concerned after multiple attacks by roaming dogs
Auckland Council set up roaming dog patrols last year to help deal with the problem. Photo: RNZ/Calvin Samuel An 11-year-old boy has stitches after he was attacked by a pair of roaming dogs in south Auckland on Monday. Meanwhile, a local dog owner said she's having nightmares after her ageing pooch was assaulted by another dog the very same day. Residents in Māngere Bridge are becoming increasingly concerned as unsupervised and aggressive dogs roam the streets. It seemed like a regular Monday afternoon when local mum Amie Clough watched her son ride off on his bike. Then the phone rang. "Literally, he'd just left the house two minutes and I get a phone call from a random number saying I'm with your son and he's just been bitten by a dog," she said. "Oh, it was pure panic and sort of adrenaline mode. I was almost in disbelief when the guy rang and it was just hearing [my son's] voice like 'mum I'm just down the road' and it was just heartbreaking." Clough ran down the road to find her son bleeding and rushed him to A&E where he got stitches on his left leg. "He's just had his dressings changed again today and, like most kids, you don't give them as much credit as [they deserve] for actually being quite resilient I think," she said. "He's still relatively immobile, can't walk for long periods and is quite sore." Clough thanked the pedestrians who stopped to assist her son and helped shift his bike. "They were super helpful," she said. Amie Clough's son had to have stitches after he was attacked by a pair of roaming dogs. Photo: Supplied/Amie Clough Later that day, 14-year-old dog Odie was also attacked. Odie's owner, who asked to keep her name private, said the attacking dog squeezed under its fence and sprinted towards them. "Right on the corner of our street, a dog just suddenly came up behind us and it just made a beeline for my dog and grabbed him round the butt and lifted him into the air, and was just shaking him like a ragdoll," she said. "I was like screaming my lungs out for someone to please help and I was kicking the other dog." She estimated the attack lasted two minutes before a passerby intervened. "This guy appeared, and he was holding this... I thought it was a bat but I think it might have actually been a log," she said. "And then he ran at the dog and the dog ran off and he, like, chased it down. I didn't see where it went because I rushed to my dog." Odie's injuries were severe. His skin was torn in three places with deep bites on his body, and his age meant the vets had to staple his wounds closed without anaesthetic. Odie was injured in a dog attack. Photo: Supplied Odie's owner said the ordeal was traumatising for both of them. "I was sure in that moment that my dog was about to be killed and that it would come after me next, and because I'm pregnant as well, so I was also really scared about what damage might have been inflicted on me and my baby," she said. "I had a lot of nightmares. I know my dog whimpers throughout the night too, so he's having nightmares." She said Animal Management responded quickly and found the attacking dog the next day. "They got photos. They got photos of the receipts from the vet bills. Yeah, they were really good and then within 24 hours they had gone round to the house and seized the dog as well and it's now impounded." But Amy Clough said aggressive dogs were an ongoing issue and needed a preventative approach. By the end of the week, the two dogs that attacked her son still hadn't been found and she had gone days without any further contact from Animal Management. Meanwhile, her fellow residents were flooding the local Facebook page with reports of similar run-ins. "You know bi-weekly there's people putting messages up about roaming dogs and having been chased by a dog or saying that there's dogs that are looking aggressive," Clough explained. "There needs to be just a proactive approach . Someone monitoring the area and looking out for these dogs to make it safer for everybody." Until the problem was solved, Clough said she was too nervous to go walking in her own neighbourhood. "I mean I walk daily in the streets and now I can't, you know, go out there until I know that at least these dogs that are local have been found and dealt with." Auckland Council established roaming dog patrols last year, which Manukau Ward Councillor Lotu Fuli said had massively improved response times. "We've seen our response times from our proactive team have been very good," she said. "So, for example, there was an incident at a local school in my ward. The school called over three dogs on the field and the team was out within minutes once they made that call." But with limited resources, the patrols couldn't be everywhere at once. Animal Management Manager Elly Waitoa urged dog owners to take responsibility for their pets. "The council currently receives around 40,000 requests for service each year, around 65 percent of which are reports of roaming dogs," she said in a statement. "In order for response times to be faster and for our teams to be able to carry out more proactive work, we really need dog owners to step up and stop allowing their dogs to roam." Lotu Fuli said resourcing for animal management was an issue she hoped the council could address as part of its annual plan in late May. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
