Arson attack leaves woman fearful

Press, 16 August 1988, Page 6

Arson attack leaves woman fearful

An elderly Merivale woman is fearful after an arson attack on a fence little more than a metre from her bedroom. “It is terrible to live in fear,” said Mrs Evelyn Webber. “I have been going to bed fully clothed waiting for something else to happen.” Mrs Webber, who has lived in her Leinster Road home for 30 years, shares a boundary fence with McDonalds Restaurant, in Papanui Road. At about 9.45 p.m. last Friday someone poured petrol on the ivy-covered fence and set it alight. A petrol can was recovered nearby. Damage was minor.

“It is a blessing that everything on that Friday evening was so soaked (by rain),” said Mrs Webber. She said elderly people now had to lock themselves in their homes. Friends were no longer willing to come out at night. “They are too scared.” Although scared, Mrs Webber says she will not move. She said she had received a number of offers for her home, some ridiculously low. “I think there is a bit of Irish in me. I think I will die before they put me out.” The police are investigating the fire.