A Masterton homeowner has taken matters into his own hands to defend his property against an alleged trespasser.
Armed with a baseball bat, Bradley Churchward said he chased the man off his property on Saturday night.
CCTV footage posted on social media showed Churchward brandishing the bat while the other man backs away. Churchward then hits the man with the bat before chasing him down the road.
According to Churchward, speaking to the Wairarapa Times-Age, he was already on alert after his neighbour's car was broken into the previous night.
"About 100 times I looked out my window. There he was walking up my footpath, a black thing around his face, right under my boy's bedroom window, so I just grabbed my baseball bat and ran outside.
"He put his hand in his pocket, and I thought he was grabbing a knife or something, so I just whacked him a couple of times in the leg, and he ran off," Churchward told the Times-Age.
Wairarapa Area Response Manager Snr Sgt Gareth Barnes said officers were called to a report of a person acting suspiciously on Wavell Cres at about 11:30pm on Saturday.
Police said officers were "speaking to one of the individuals involved in the incident and would like to encourage the other party to come forward to assist with the investigation".
Members of the public were urged not to take matters into their own hands when it came to suspicious activity, Barnes said.
"Initial enquiries indicate the person who called police has assaulted the person who was allegedly acting suspiciously.
"If you have any information relating to this incident, please contact police on 105 or report online, quoting the event number P059065515."
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