Homeowner who found a piece of plastic lodged in the lock of his back gate issues a chilling warning to residents – here’s why it’s bad news if it happens to you
- Lake Macquarie resident noticed suspicious plastic wedged into his back gate
- Blake Smith, 25, believes someone was trying to rob his Belmont North home
- Shard of plastic stopped the locking mechanism from working
- Homeowner took to social media to warn others to stay alert
A homeowner who found a suspicious piece of plastic lodged in his back gate fears he was being targetted by burglars.
Blake Smith, from Belmont North in Lake Macquarie, two hours north of Sydney, made the shock discovery at his property last week.
The 25-year-old heard his gate banging in the wind, which was odd as it usually remains locked, and decided to investigate.
He discovered a shard of sharp plastic wedged into the gate’s locking mechanism to keep it from closing.
The concerned resident immediately took to social media to warn other homeowners there could be a potential burglar targeting their area.
Blake Smith found a sinister shard of plastic (pictured) wedged into the lock of the back gate of his Belmont North home last Thursday
‘Attention to anyone in the Jewells/Belmont North area, some scumbag has got into my backyard the other night and I’m assuming to try and let my dogs out to steal something, or possibly take my dogs’, he wrote on Facebook.
‘This bit of plastic was wedged in the clip of the gate and couldn’t shut properly so keep an eye out on all your gates and animals.’
His post was quickly flooded with comments from alarmed residents, many grateful for the reminder to lock the side and back gates on their properties.
The piece of plastic had been wedged into the lock mechanism to keep the gate from closing
One local said two men had recently tried to steal her client’s dog in the neighbouring suburb.
‘One of my client’s Staffy X got out in Redhead a few weeks ago and two men were trying to drag him in the car and drive off before anyone could do anything’, she wrote.
‘Luckily they didn’t succeed but everyone be careful leaving your dogs outside.’
Mr Smith said he thinks the intruder most likely wedged the piece of plastic into his gate last week.
He mowed his lawn and locked the property on Wednesday before realising the next day that the back gate had been tampered with.
‘I always make sure everything is closed because I have two dogs,’ he told 7NEWS.
The concerned resident issued an urgent warning to locals in his area, reminding others to lock their back and side gates to keep pets safe
Mr Smith now wonders if the potential thief had disabled the lock to return on a later date.
He said burglaries are common-place in his neighbourhood, with a home just a 30 seconds walk away recently targeted.
Mr Smith says he will let his beloved pets sleep inside from now on, and plans to install security cameras around his home.