Freedom campers have become an escalating issue for a Kaikoura couple.
Dozens of campers set up in front of their beach front home every night and they're so upset by many of their actions that they've resorted to documenting it in a plea for help from the council.
Local resident Dave Lyon confronted a tourist and filmed him while he was relieving himself at the beach.
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"You're doing a s*** right in front of our beach," he tells the tourist.
"So this is not allowed?" the tourist asks.
"Of course it's not allowed," Mr Lyons said.
Lyons says this is a daily occurrence outside him and his wife Cezanne's beach front home. He says there's a mess left behind on the beach every morning.
"The past summer has been like a nightmare to live in - like a freedom camping nightmare," Mrs Lyons told Newshub.
Fed up, the couple have been documenting it all as they see it unfold from their living room.
"It's really frustrating and quite upsetting," Mrs Lyons adds.
The Kaikoura District Council has placed a portaloo on the beach as a temporary solution, but wants help from the Government to solve it long term.
This is not a lone crusade - a petition has been handed to the council with the signatures of several residents in this area who are fed up and say not enough is being done to stop these dirty campers.
"We don't want to spoil our environment; we don't want to spoil their enjoyment of our environment, and look, I share their frustrations but a knee-jerk reaction won't work," said Kaikoura Mayor Winston Gray.
The Mayor says they'll have a resolution by next summer.
But that's a long way away for the Lyons family dealing with situations like this every morning.
The couple claim they see people defecating on the beach up to three times a day. They said they're frustrated the Council is not listening to them.
Newshub.
