CHARMAINE Pengelly is browned off, and rightly so.After 18 months of vandalism, arrogant thugs have now taken to using her business as their own personal toilet, dropping a weekend deuce that was the final straw for the frustrated businesswoman.
Mrs Pengelly and her husband purchased their Warana warehouse in August, 2017, and operate growing business Budget Screen Printing out of the premises.
An attempted break-in in December, 2017, was the start of what’s become a long-running battle with law breakers.
“I’m sick of it,” Mrs Pengelly said.
High-end graffiti artists were given permission to paint the back walls of the warehouse previously, in a bid to stop graffiti on the front and side of the building, but that was revoked in April, 2018, when the vandals started targeting windows on the building.
Since then Mrs Pengelly said they’d been in a running battle with vandals, who had abused her and even knocked a phone from her hands as she filmed them in the act.
“It’s not right, it’s creating a really insecure environment,” she said.
“We are a good business, we’re not trouble makers.”
The saga reached its crappy crescendo on Monday morning when Mrs Pengelly’s staff found human faeces on the wall of the building.
Vandals had even painted a warning on the wall which read “WATCH OUT” and then “REAL TURD”.
Mrs Pengelly was left to clean the filth up Monday afternoon, and said she’d lost count of the number of times she’d had to pick up discarded paint cans to stop them rolling into Lake Kawana.
Vandals cause damage
I just don’t know what else to do,” she said.
“These guys are filthy, horrible people. Surely that’s the lowest of low.
“I don’t endorse it and I just want it cleaned up.”
She said she was looking into setting up CCTV cameras on her building while a neighbour had resorted to putting up a high fence with barbed wire.
Kawana police officer-in-charge Acting Senior Sergeant Michael Jocumsen said they were aware of the incident and were investigating.
He said his officers were patrolling the area and there was “a raft of offences” they could charge vandals if caught.
He welcomed CCTV and any other measure which would help police catch those responsible.