A WOMAN and her dog have been moved on from McBride Avenue after her vehicle was towed on Wednesday, July 23, at 6.15pm after 59 days.
It comes after local businesses and their staff endured over eight weeks of harassment and abuse by the woman, who had been offered assistance with accommodation.
“Not only is parking limited along McBride Avenue as it is, but she was incredibly antagonistic towards the shopkeepers, and made us feel uncomfortable,” business owner Clair Burns stated.
“Had she been nice and friendly, and not caused any problems, then it would have been totally different; however, her attitude and the mess she created, we are glad she has finally left. She had to move on.”
It’s understood she was banned from entering two local venues after harassing patrons and would often target older individuals begging for money.
“It took too long,” Clair added, stating that during the 59-day period the woman only received one parking fine.
“After the first couple of weeks, I went to ask if she was okay, saying I was quite concerned for her, and she went ballistic – taking photos of the shop, throwing rubbish, I phoned the police. Fortunately, she wasn’t aggressive towards our customers, but she was definitely aggressive towards the shopkeepers. You didn’t know if it would be a good day, and you’d be left alone or if she was going to go off.”
Clair was not alone; staff at a local licensed venue were also harassed and left to continuously clean up the mess she had left on their outside tables.
“She allowed her dog to use the footpath out the front of the venue. The staff had to ask her to pick up after her dog on a few occasions,” owner Paradee Titulaer stated.
“She also harassed our patrons for money. She was quite aggressive most of the time, and council and the police were powerless to help us.”
On one occasion, Clair was also forced to contact council after the dog was left in the vehicle for over five hours, but as it was not deemed a “hot day”, the council were powerless to smash a window.
Though understanding of her situation, local businesses want to ensure the same thing doesn’t happen in the future, stating “it simply should not have got to the point it did” with authorities powerless to help local small businesses facing harassment and abuse.
