Teen ripped off Trade Me user

A Blenheim teenager stole a person's Trade Me account details and used the trader's good reputation to sell items which the buyer never received.

Michael Andrew Mason, 18, unemployed of Blenheim, admitted accessing a computer system for pecuniary advantage when he appeared in the Blenheim District Court yesterday. He will be sentenced on March 28.

Mason also admitted breaching community work and community detention.

Police prosecutor Sergeant Graham Single, of Blenheim, said Mason found logon details for the auction site on a computer which belonged to the victim.

Mason used the account, which had 97 per cent positive feedback, on February 2 to sell a set of mag wheels for $600, and gave the buyer his bank account details instead of the real user's details. The buyer later contacted the real user, who knew nothing about the sale. Both contacted police.

Mason used the money to pay for board and clothes.

Defence lawyer Philip Watson said Mason made sure the wheels had been sent to the buyer in Auckland, and had a receipt from the shipping company.

Bottles thrown at strangers

A Canvastown man threw glass bottles at groups of people because he felt they had taken his and his brother's jobs, according to police.

Lloyd George McKenzie, 23, unemployed, admitted disorderly behaviour likely to cause violence and was sentenced to 60 hours' community work.

Mr Single said McKenzie was a passenger in a car driving south on Hutcheson St, Blenheim, about 7pm on February 24.

He threw a bottle at a group of people, but missed, and also verbally abused them. He threw another bottle at another group walking on the Hutcheson St bridge, narrowly missing them.

McKenzie told police the group had taken his and his brother's jobs.

Mr Single did not say who the groups were or what jobs they had allegedly taken.

Caught red-handed

A Linkwater man who ran from police when they searched his home was caught a short time later holding five small cannabis plants.

Shaun Jon Jordan, 42, a labourer, was sentenced to 180 hours' community work and 12 months' supervision after admitting cultivating cannabis. An order was also made for the destruction of the cannabis and growing equipment.

Judge Tony Zohrab said that when police searched Jordan's home on September 30, he ran to the back of the property and grabbed five small cannabis plants, part of a larger growing operation. He tried to run away but was soon caught.

Defence lawyer John Holdaway said Jordan had been receiving counselling for his cannabis use and could only carry out light community work duties. Judge Zohrab disagreed.

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Other charges

Rachel Ann Bary, 43, of Renwick, admitted wilful trespass and was ordered to make a $300 donation to St Mark's Society.

Amco Pake Cassidy, 21, of Canvastown, admitted assault with intent to injure and will be sentenced on April 11.

Nigel Wilson Smith, 55, of Blenheim, admitted assault and was ordered to pay $500 to the victim for emotional harm.

Adrian Craig Green, 24, of Blenheim, admitted assaulting a woman and was given a 12-month suspended sentence.

Lucretia Shantell Bullen, 17, unemployed of Blenheim, admitted two charges of assaulting police and disorderly behaviour and will be sentenced on March 21.

Mihi Hurimoni Love, 33, admitted assault and disorderly behaviour likely to cause violence and was sentenced to 80 hours' community work.

Graeme Kerry Kereama Aldridge, 32, a labourer of Ngakuta Bay, admitted assault and was sentenced to nine months' supervision.

Darryl John Boyce, 22, of Blenheim, admitted assault, burglary, and breaching community work and community detention, and was sentenced to five months' home detention and 100 hours' community work.

Jed Lockyer, 35, of Picton, admitted theft, burglary, wilful damage and disorderly behaviour, and was sentenced to 120 hours' community work and ordered to pay $200 for emotional harm.

Taylor Lee Carter, 21, a mother of Waikawa, admitted theft and was ordered to pay $150 to Countdown for a staff morning tea.

Nicholas James Corkin, 29, a linesperson of Blenheim, admitted unlawfully being in a building and was ordered to pay $250 emotional harm.

Francis Clifford Ellis, 27, unemployed of Renwick, admitted dangerous driving, driving while forbidden, breaching bail and presenting a firearm, and was sentenced to two months' community detention and 100 hours' community work and disqualified for nine months.

Pamore Te Ao Tangata Lewis Hapeta-King, 18, unemployed of Renwick, admitted driving while suspended and was sentenced to 40 hours' community work and six months' supervision.

Brendon Thomas Carl Niblett, 24, of Renwick, admitted interfering with a van and possessing utensils to smoke cannabis, and was sentenced to 60 hours' community work.

- The Marlborough Express

Last updated 11:21 01/03/2011

Prison next for woman in drink-driving case

A woman was driving with twice the legal breath-alcohol limit when a trailer she was towing clipped the Grove Rd Bridge in Blenheim and threw a metal cage into the windscreen of an oncoming van.

She was "likely to go to prison" if she appeared in court for drink-driving again, Judge Tony Zohrab warned her when she appeared in the Blenheim District Court yesterday.

Georgia Shirley Victoria Howe, 23, of Blenheim, was found to have an excess breath alcohol level of 860 micrograms (legal limit 400mcg).

Judge Zohrab said Howe had two passengers in the car as she towed a trailer north along Grove Rd about 6pm on November 7. She was distracted by a cellphone and the trailer clipped the bridge, throwing the metal cage on the trailer into an oncoming van.

Howe slowed down but kept driving, he said.

She told police she had stopped drinking the night before and had not stopped after the incident because she was scared.

Howe's front-seat passenger grabbed the steering wheel and turned the car on to the side of the road. The passengers got out and Howe drove off but police soon found her in a layby.

Defence counsel Laurie Murdoch said Howe denied using her cellphone.

Howe was disqualified for 12 months and sentenced to nine months' supervision and 180 hours' community work after admitting dangerous driving, failing to stop in a non-injury accident and drink-driving.

She was also ordered to do a driver improvement course.

- The Marlborough Express

Last updated 11:38 01/03/2011

Alive and out of the rubble

"Where are you? We will get you out."

As men frantically worked to free Blenheim woman Karen Scott and her daughter from the rubble of what used to be her High St cafe, she could only hear her rescuers.

"Reach out your arms and we'll pull you out."

A pair of hands reached for hers and dragged her and her daughter back to the surface.

Her only thought after her rescue was the safety of a staff member still trapped by the roof of the cafe that had fallen during the violent shake.

"They [the men] were telling me I had to leave, but Tracey was still in there and I didn't know where she was," she said.

"They kept saying it was too dangerous, but I had to find her."

The three were busy preparing for the lunch time trade at Ms Scott's Ja-Basco Bar and Cafe when the earth began to shake.

Heavy bottles of spirits were "flying through the air like torpedoes" and everything else was "flying everywhere", she said.

She yelled at her daughter and Tracey to run toward part of the cafe which had been strengthened with steel beams, but they only managed to take three steps before the roof collapsed, some of which hit Ms Scott's head.

The group of men, who worked on the floor above the cafe, could not see Tracey or hear her because alarms were sounding.

They climbed onto the roof and tried entering the back door of the cafe but it was blocked, she said.

A hole in the roof gave the men their first sight of Tracey who was in a hole in the rubble and she too was pulled out.

All three were unhurt, although Ms Scott still had a bad headache and sore back when she spoke to the Marlborough Express on Friday.

Family members drove from Blenheim on Thursday to pick up Ms Scott, and her daughter and her daughter's young children.

The group would stay with family in Blenheim indefinitely, she said.

Her business had been lost to the rubble, but she said other families were worse off.

"I've got choices I can make. I'm alive and I can begin again," she said.

Ms Scott used to own Copper Bock bar in Blenheim, which is now Fairweathers on Scott.

- The Marlborough Express SIMON WONG

Last updated 11:13 28/02/2011

Message to readers

Last updated 11:33 24/02/2011

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We apologise for the reduced edition of The Marlborough Express yesterday, and for the non-publication of the Kaikoura Star this week.

Problems with our computer servers based in Christchurch are causing problems for all Fairfax newspapers in the South Island, which are being printed under extreme difficulty.

We are proud of what we achieved yesterday to bring you updates and pictures from the earthquake in Canterbury.

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Our technical people are doing everything they can to work around the production problems, but we hope you will be patient if papers are late or don't follow the usual form.

- The Marlborough Express

Well-respected Awatere Valley farmer Graham Black has died and his wife, Beverley Black, is in a stable condition after being found in their upturned vehicle down a steep bank yesterday.

Family, friends and police searched the road after the Blacks did not return home from a trip to Blenheim on Tuesday afternoon.

They were found in Cow Creek, about 40 kilometres from the Awatere Valley Rd turnoff on State Highway 1.

The couple run Awapiri Station, in the Awatere Valley, with their son and daughter-in-law, and are much respected high country farming people. Mr Black is well known in New Zealand and Australia as a merino stud ram breeder and judge and for mentoring young people in the merino industry.

A family spokeswoman said the couple were in Blenheim on Tuesday afternoon, and were reported missing after their son, Duncan, visited them on Wednesday morning and could not find them.

Marlborough highway patrol leader Sergeant Barrie Greenall said a family member found the car about 80 metres down a steep cliff, shortly before a helicopter arrived.

Emergency workers used cutting gear to free the couple. Mr Black was pronounced dead at the scene, and workers carried Mrs Black on a stretcher several hundred metres up the steep hill to the waiting helicopter. She was flown to Wairau Hospital and was reported to be in a stable condition this morning.

A friend said Mr Black's death would leave a large gap in the Awatere Valley and New Zealand merino farming communities, which would remember him for his integrity and quiet sense of humour. The couple have a son, two daughters and three grandchildren aged between 4 and 16.

The couple have shown their top merinos at every A&P show in Blenheim and Christchurch since 1976.

Mr Black spent four decades judging sheep both nationally and internationally and was a founding member and a life member of the local merino association.

Constable Michelle Stagg, of Blenheim, said Mr Black, who was the driver, may have failed to take a sharp right-hand bend.

Volunteer fire brigades from Seddon and Blenheim, Blenheim police and St John ambulance attended the scene.

- The Marlborough Express

Station owner dies in car crash

SIMON WONG

Last updated 12:23 24/02/2011

BEN CURRAN

Graham Black at last year's A and P Show in Blenheim

SCOTT HAMMOND

Rescued: Awatere Valley woman Beverley Black was flown to Wairau Hospital and is in a stable condition after she and husband Graham Black were found in their upturned car in the Awatere Valley.

Accident near Cow Creek

One person is dead and one alive after a car left he road near Cow Creek in the Awatere Valley.

The pair needed to be cut from the vehicle by emergency services this afternoon after they were found inside their four-wheel-drive vehicle upside down in the creek.

The survivor was taken to hospital by a helicopter.

The car left the road on a tight bend and fell about 80 metres down a sheer cliff.

Marlborough highway patrol leader Sergeant Barrie Greenall did not know when the vehicle left the road.

Details about the people in the vehicle were not available tonight.

- The Marlborough Express SIMON WONG

Last updated 18:42 23/02/2011

Joy-riding can be expensive

"Joy-riding suddenly feels less joyful, doesn't it?" a judge told a young man as he stood in the dock at the Blenheim District Court yesterday.

Gary John Watts, 20, a carpetlayer, of Blenheim, was a passenger in a stolen car involved in a 40-kilometre police chase on February 8.

Judge Jill Moss said Watts' decision to get in the car and his inability to say no to his friends had turned sour.

Watts admitted unlawfully getting into a car and was fined $300, and ordered to pay court costs.

Police prosecutor Sergeant Steve Frost said Watts was asked by two friends of his flatmate if he wanted to go for a joy-ride in a black 2008 Holden Commodore, which had been stolen from Nelson the day before. The car was soon involved in a chase along Marlborough roads, ending with road spikes outside the Havelock police station.

Watts ran from the car, but was later found by police.

Teen in trouble

A final warning on a Blenheim teenager's record could not be ignored when he appeared on a raft of charges, Judge Moss said.

She sentenced Samuel James Koroheke, 18, unemployed, to four months jail for three cannabis charges, three bail breaches, an assault with a weapon, converting a car, and possessing instruments to convert a car.

Judge Moss said the assault, which she deemed the most serious of the charges, did not merit a prison sentence on its own, but did when the other charges and her final warning were taken into consideration.

Home or community detention were not an option because Koroheke had "burned his bridges" with his family, she said.

Cannabis charges

Matthew Carl Rickerby, 21, unemployed, was sentenced to 220 hours community work for cultivating cannabis, possession of cannabis, 60 cannabis seeds and utensils to smoke cannabis after he admitted the charges in the Blenheim District Court yesterday.

Judge Moss told Rickerby he should see a health provider about the amount of cannabis he used, although she did not sentence him to do that.

"It [cannabis use] can continue and continue, but it always ends badly ... it has long term devastating effects," she said.

"[You need to say] `I can choose to live better than this'."

Police prosecutor sergeant Steve Frost said police searched Rickerby's home about 3pm on February 3, and found eight cannabis plants growing in a vegetable garden.

Two other plants were drying in the laundry and 60 seeds, a bong, and spotting knives were found inside.

Judge Moss also ordered the destruction of the cannabis and utensils.

Lesley Michael Lundt, 21, a factory hand of Blenheim, admitted possession of cannabis, and possession of cannabis utensils, and was sentenced to 200 hours community work.

Anthony Michael Franz, 21, of Blenheim, admitted possession of cannabis, and possession of cannabis utensils, and was sentenced to 80 hours community work.

Harley Robert Hokianga, 24, a vineyard worker, of Blenheim, admitted possession of cannabis, and offensive behaviour, and was sentenced to 40 hours community work.

Extra work forstealing trailer

Trying to sell a stolen trailer to an off-duty police officer earned a Picton mechanic a community work sentence. Anthony John David McKenzie, 23, of Picton, admitted taking the trailer and theft and was sentenced to 140 hours community work.

Police prosecutor Sergeant Steve Frost said McKenzie drove to BP in Picton, about 3am on February 9, and took a trailer, which had been secured with a padlock, and filled it with car batteries and scrap metal from the station. He later sold the scrap metal and batteries, then tried to sell the trailer to the off-duty police officer for $150.

Defence counsel Kent Arnott said McKenzie sold the items because he was low on cash, but admitted his dishonesty.

Driver was drunk

A drunk driver who hit another car in central Blenheim, then drove from the scene, had to stop soon after because of the damage to his own car, according to police.

Leroy Alex Brown, 31, of Blenheim, admitted careless driving, failing to stop and excess breath-alcohol (third or subsequent offence), and will be sentenced on April 11.

Police prosecutor Sergeant Steve Frost said Brown was driving west on Alfred St, about 6pm on New Year's Day, and did not give way, hitting the front of the victim's car and causing it to spin.

Brown drove away, but his car stopped soon after and he walked away.

He was found to have 1131 micrograms of alcohol per litre of breath.

The legal limit is 400mcg.

- The Marlborough Express Last updated 12:01 22/02/2011

Son's tormentor assaulted

A Blenheim father landed a conviction for assault yesterday after confronting his son's teenage bully.

Michael Eric Dobby, 43, admitted assault and was given a six-month suspended sentence when he appeared in the Blenheim District Court.

Police prosecutor Sergeant Steve Frost said the 15-year-old victim had been bullying Dobby's son.

The son came home upset about 1pm on January 27 and told his father the teenager had assaulted him again, at which point Dobby lost his temper, he said.

Dobby found the bully on the top floor of the Marlborough District Library in Blenheim.

The teenager ran toward the lift and closed the doors but Dobby met him downstairs, put him in a headlock and led him outside.

Dobby calmed down and let go after he was stopped by several members of the public, Mr Frost said.

The victim turned around and punched Dobby in the face. Dobby did not hit back and told the teenager to leave his son alone.

Dobby turned himself in to police and said he had intended to take the teenager to the police station to lay an assault complaint against him.

Defence counsel Kent Arnott said the confrontation was the "culmination of not just several months, but several years" of bullying. The incident "got out of hand" but Dobby had a limited criminal history, he said.

Judge Jill Moss said Dobby could not treat another person the way he did. There were "proper systems to deal with problems like these".

"We're never at our best when our children are hurt, are we?" she said.

Dobby shook his head in reply.

- The Marlborough Express Last updated 12:00 22/02/2011

Forged vouchers damage charity

A drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre in Blenheim is concerned about its ability to raise money after a committee member forged vouchers for their charity dinner last year.

A victim impact statement from the St Mark's Society was read in the Blenheim District Court yesterday.

Judge Jill Moss said the society was a "vulnerable charity" which was the victim of promises 38-year-old Blenheim man Brendon Paul Hurring could not keep.

Hurring admitted three charges of making a false document and was sentenced yesterday to 12 months' intensive supervision and a suspended sentence for nine months.

At a previous appearance, police prosecutor Sergeant Graham Single said that Hurring made an Air NZ travel voucher, a whale watch voucher and a hotel voucher to auction at the charity's fundraising dinner on September 17.

He also promised that former All Black Jonah Lomu and actress Robyn Malcolm would be guest speakers.

Hurring set up fake email addresses for Mr Lomu and Ms Malcolm and sent correspondence to committee members pretending to be the celebrities, Mr Single said.

Defence counsel John Holdaway said Hurring did not gain anything from making the vouchers other than the "accolades of the committee and a feeling he made a major contribution to a good cause".

Hurring wanted St Mark's to have a successful dinner so "they could have the resources Marlborough needs", he said.

Hurring got carried away with making promises and did not check the availability of the guest speakers. Hurring hoped he had not made fundraising harder for the charity and all parties had been reimbursed, he said.

St Mark's was a cause Hurring had been passionate about, but was now ostracised by the committee, Mr Holdaway said.

Judge Moss said crimes involving the breach of trust were worse than other crimes.

She told Mr Holdaway to make sure Hurring read the victim impact statement.

After reading part of the statement, she said "fundraising in Blenheim must be hard because it's not a very wealthy area".

"You've done a great deal of harm to them."

Hurring was about to start at an alcohol and drug treatment centre, which pleased Judge Moss.

"I'm pleased someone is saying you need treatment, but it's your choice to take it," she said.


- The Marlborough Express Last updated 12:00 22/02/2011

1000 more people employed

More people were employed in Marlborough in the December quarter last year compared with the same period in 2009, according to Statistics New Zealand figures.

Data released to the Marlborough Express shows 27,500 people of working age in the region were employed during the December 2010 quarter compared with 26,500 in December 2009. The working age population comprised those 15 and over.

Marlborough Chamber of Commerce general manager Brian Dawson said the increase was "extremely encouraging" and meant more people were participating in the workforce through circumstance or choice.

The estimated populations for Marlborough for 2010 and 2009 were 45,300 and 45,000 respectively.

The figures for Marlborough came from Statistics New Zealand's latest household labour survey which contained Nelson, Marlborough, West Coast and Tasman data.

Meanwhile, Work and Income figures show the number of people unemployed in Marlborough rose to 333 in December 2010, compared with 204 people in December 2009. Mr Dawson said this was "wasted potential".

"It's such a waste when people who can potentially be productive are receiving a benefit. Their lives would be much better [in all aspects] and they would be able to contribute more to the community," he said. "While it is hard [to find a job], it's not a reason to not try."

Getting people back into employment was not just a role for the Government, he said.

"It's a community role to work out what they [the unemployed] need and how employers can be creating jobs for people who need flexibility, whether they have some kind of physical or intellectual challenge or because of their family circumstances."

- The Marlborough Express

SIMON WONG

Last updated 12:00 17/02/2011

Man changes plea at the last minute

A Blenheim man was sentenced to community work for kicking a woman in the stomach after changing his plea at the last minute before his jury trial was set to begin at the Blenheim District Court yesterday.

Simon Louis Melton, 24, admitted assaulting a female and intentional damage of a stereo after Crown prosecutor Hugh Boyd-Wilson withdrew a charge of assault with intent to injure.

Melton was sentenced to 100 hours' community work, nine months' supervision and ordered to pay $300 reparation for the stereo.

Melton must also complete a domestic violence programme.

Judge Michael Behrens said the incident on November 24, 2009 began when a child damaged property belonging to Melton. He grabbed his then partner and kicked her twice in the stomach.

The relationship "obviously was getting too much for both of you", but there was "no excuse for doing that", the judge said.

Melton had no previous convictions for assault.

Defence counsel Philip Watson asked Judge Behrens to include the $3000 Melton owed in fines in the sentence to give him a "clean slate".

He was now in a stable environment and a relationship with his new partner and had "learned a lesson from his involvement with the police", Mr Watson said.

- The Marlborough Express

Last updated 12:00 17/02/2011

She's all about `pen to paper'

At what some might consider the height of Brooke Fraser's career with the release of her newest and highly acclaimed album Flags and her huge international success, Fraser looks to the future when she eventually steps away from the spotlight to start a family.

Flags debuted at No59 on the iconic Billboard Top 100 in the United States; No4 on iTunes USA and No3 on iTunes Canada when it was released in October last year. It also debuted at No3 in Australia and No1 in New Zealand. The first single off the album, Something in the Water, reached No30 on the Italian pop charts and is continuing to rise, something Fraser said was "really random and exciting" – especially as she had yet to venture into Europe.

Growing international interest in her soulful songs comes after a four year wait between albums and years of gruelling tour schedules trying to gain traction in North America. She often tells of touring songs off her second album Albertine for at least three years leaving her tired and burnt out, because of the rigorous tour scheduleand because the songs brought back personal memories of her experiences in Rwanda.

Albertine was inspired by a trip to the east African nation in 2005, 11 years after the genocide in which up to one million people are thought to have been murdered. The album and title track were named after a Rwandan orphan who was saved from the genocide.

Flags is more of a collaborative and happy album made with the help of friends, Fraser says. It's an album of firsts – with a recorded duet with Englishman Matt Hales, aka Aqualung, and Fraser taking the reigns as producer "not to try and prove something, but because I thought it was the right thing for that collection of songs".

With all the signs of a star on the rise, Fraser is still planning ahead for when she settles down with husband Scott Ligertwood, in a more permanent location in Sydney, and has children. When the 27-year-old songstress decides to temporarily step down from the stage she says she will swap music for another of her great loves – stationery. She plans to open her own stationery business, to help support her new family and give her a way to channel her creativity, but maintains the plan is still in its early stages.

"[It's] in an embryonic state at the moment, but it's something we are talking about, so watch this space. I suppose it's really thinking about the future and when I'm pregnant and have

"I need to still try and feed my family somehow and still kind of have a creative outlet.

"Stationery is a beautiful marriage of those things."

Before diving head first into stationery business ownership however, Fraser says she'll need to test the waters by possibly selling a line of merchandise through a boutique Australian stationery company she "really loves".

"I've kind of been talking to them so I think I might start with a line of y'know `Brooke Fraser for yada yada yada' and then see how we go."

She says her love affair with stationery stems from a markedly low-fi approach to life.

"I love journals and I love the physical act of writing things down. I love lists, I love journalling and scheduling – I love all these different things. I think there's just something for me about pen to paper."

A laptop and a blackberry phone are the extent of her gadgetry prowess, she confesses. She would be the reluctant owner of a Kindle e-reader, but prefers to dog ear pages in books and underline passages which pique her interest.

"It's funny because I always put my books in my carry on [luggage] and when I'm checking in I'll hide my bag behind a pillar so they can't check it to weigh it, but I don't get away with it all the time.

"Usually my carry on weighs 14 kilograms and it's all books, so just due to that and for the health of my back I should probably maybe look at getting a Kindle but it's not something that appeals to me."

Books, she says, give her more inspiration for song writing than music does. Many of her songs can be traced back to books and two of her songs, CS Lewis Song on Albertine and Jack Kerouac on Flags, were named after authors, although she says that wasn't a deliberate decision.

The songstress will be bringing her literary-inspired lyrics to the top of the south, coincidentally the birthplace of her first song, as the headline act of the More FM Winery Tour at the Villa Maria Estate in Blenheim on February 25, with support from Opshop and Midnight Youth.

The Naenae native wrote her first song, Sandfly at the age of 12 during a school camp at Teapot Valley, south of Nelson. She says she still sometimes does an impromptu version during a gig, but admits "it's not exactly the most sophisticated of musical tunes".

The Winery Tour will be just like being back at camp, "but touring around playing music" with communal meals and a friendly atmosphere with the other bands and the up to 50 crew.

"That's what I really enjoy the most – not just getting to play alongside them [Opshop and Midnight Youth] on the night, but just hanging out."

Tickets cost $65 and are available from ticketmaster.co.nz, 0800111999, winerytour.co.nz and Ticket Direct 0800 4 TICKET or ticketdirect.co.nz. Ritchies will have a bus service for $20 return per person from Seymour Square at 4.45pm.

- The Marlborough Express

SIMON WONG

Last updated 10:23 17/02/2011

Jeremy Redmore, Midnight Youth, Brooke Fraser and Jason Kerrison, Opshop.

Robber remanded

As he stood on the Mobil service station forecourt in Blenheim in the early hours of January 23, Terrence Michael Duckmanton, 44, took a breath and pulled down his black beanie.

With a 30-centimetre-long knife in hand, he walked into the service station where a woman was working.

Desperate for money, he demanded she open the cash register and threatened to harm her if she refused.

He followed her to the register and brandished the blade across the counter while she emptied the night's takings.

Duckmanton also demanded a packet of cigarettes and left the store with items totalling $194.

He walked to his home in Riversdale.

Along the way he dropped the beanie on railway reserve land, put his striped jersey in a clothing bin on Dillons Point Rd and threw the knife into a river.

Blenheim police found him the next afternoon still wearing the boots he had worn during the robbery.

He told police he was "very sorry the lady was involved".

Duckmanton, 44, a plasterer, hung his head and shook it several times as police read the summary of facts in the Blenheim District Court yesterday after he plead guilty to the aggravated robbery of the Grove Road service station.

He was remanded in custody until his sentencing on April 19.

Duckmanton will receive a first strike on his criminal record when he is sentenced.

- The Marlborough Express

Last updated 12:00 15/02/2011

Ten students win scholarships

Ten Marlborough teenagers have proved they among the best and brightest in the country by winning scholarships.

Students from Marlborough Girls' College received eight scholarships, a Marlborough Boys' College student received two and a Queen Charlotte College student received one.

College principals say they are pleased with the results, but have set their sights even higher for the new academic year.

Marlborough Girls' deputy principal Jude Young said she was thrilled for the eight who did well.

Forty students had signed up for scholarship exams last year, although not all ended up sitting them, which was normal, she said.

Students from the college gained four scholarships in 2009, and it was aiming to lift the number of scholarship successes to double figures in the 2011 academic year.

Boys' college principal Wayne Hegarty said he was pleased for Thomas Flaherty, who had lifted the school's scholarship tally from the one achieved in 2009.

However, he would have liked to have seen more boys gain scholarships.

He would talk at an assembly on Friday to motivate students and raise expectations, as part of his goal of seeing students achieve five scholarship passes this year, he said.

Queen Charlotte College principal Tom Parsons was delighted Nicole Macdonald, 18, had received a scholarship for art design.

Nicole, who is studying visual communication and design at Massey University in Wellington this year, had a "good future ahead" and it was "lovely to see her recognised nationally", he said.

Students who gain scholarships get money toward their tertiary study ranging from a one-off payment of $500 for a single subject scholarship to $30,000 over three years for top scholars.

Ninety-eight per cent of the college students who passed NCEA level 2 last year were studying for level 3 and it made sense the school would push for better marks, he said.

"Where do you go after 98 per cent at level 2? It's a logical extension that we have a close look at scholarships for this year," he said.

However, many students planned to get a good job rather than go to university, he said.

"University degrees are not seen in the community as the epitome of success – a good steady job is."

CONGRATULATIONS

Scholarship winners

Marlborough Girls' College: Seung Kim (biology), Brianna Dean (classical studies), Rebekah Simpson (classical studies), Coral Denize (English), Luisa Leo Tupuana'i (English), Rebecca Johns (history), Lily Harvey (media studies), Natalie Kirk (photography)

Marlborough Boys' College: Thomas Flaherty (two scholarships, one in photography and one in graphics and design)

Queen Charlotte College: Nicole Macdonald (art design)

- The Marlborough Express

SIMON WONG

Last updated 12:00 16/02/2011

Lucas Baker, 8, Riki Baker, 11 and Tama Baker, 11.

Brenon Gray

Toby Witehira, 7, with the Bledisloe Cup.

Renwick rugby player, Liam Annis 9

The Tahana family: Ben (dad), Dallas 7, Jayden 14 and Perry 10.

Simon Wong with the Webb Ellis Trophy.

Lucas Baker, 8, Riki Baker, 11 and Tama Baker, 11.

Lucas Baker, 8, Riki Baker, 11 and Tama Baker, 11.

Lucas Baker, 8, Riki Baker, 11 and Tama Baker, 11.

Lucas Baker, 8, Riki Baker, 11 and Tama Baker, 11.

Lucas Baker, 8, Riki Baker, 11 and Tama Baker, 11.

Aero club helpers thanked

An aviation college boss has thanked Marlborough Aero Club members for their help when one of his students crash landed at Omaka Airfield on Friday.

A 21-year-old student from the Nelson Aviation College, based in Motueka, was the sole occupant of the two-seater Cessna 152 when the front wheel buckled during a routine landing about 3pm.

The pilot, who is from Oman, walked away from the crash with no injuries although he was shaken. He was seen by St John Ambulance staff.

Nelson Aviation College chief executive Giles Witney said the man had been a student since he arrived in New Zealand 11 months ago and had just gained his private pilot licence.

Mr Witney thanked the Marlborough Aero Club for its help and said the most important thing was there were no injuries.

The pilot and two other students flying solo had flown from Motueka to Lake Station Airfield near St Arnaud and were coming to Omaka to refuel for the return journey, he said.

The Cessna would probably be repairable, subject to the insurance company's assessment, he said.

The college was investigating the incident.

Vince Gardner, who flies with the Marlborough Aero Club, was second on the scene.

Mr Gardner said he saw the plane crashed on its nose.

He and another person who rushed to the crashed plane checked the pilot was all right, and turned the plane's power off.

Civil Aviation Authority communications manager Bill Sommers said the accident was reported to the authority. The pilot is to file a report of the accident to the authority.

Omaka airfield is a club field about 5km from Blenheim.

- The Marlborough Express

SIMON WONG AND MICHAEL BERRY

Last updated 12:30 14/02/2011

Rugby fans are overrun by cups

Six of the biggest and most coveted prizes in international rugby were on show at Lansdowne Park yesterday, all but one with New Zealand engraved as the latest winners.

The Webb Ellis Cup, Tri-Nations Cup, Bledisloe Cup, Hillary Shield, IRB Junior World Championship trophy and the IRB Women's World Cup were the focal point of many photos and excitement among families who visited the park in Blenheim yesterday.

New Zealand currently holds all the silverware except the Webb Ellis Cup which will be contested this year when the Rugby World Cup begins at Eden Park in Auckland on September 9.

NZRU general manager of community rugby and provincial unions, Brent `Buck' Anderson, said although he would like to see the All Blacks holding the Webb Ellis Cup after the final on October 23, they'll need to work for it.

The trophies are part of a nationwide tour of all provinces promoting registration for the upcoming junior rugby season.

The Tasman region was the first to see the cups on display, with Nelson on Saturday and Marlborough yesterday, before they are moved on to Westport today and Hokitika tomorrow.

Children also got an opportunity to practise their passing skills with activities aimed at improving their accuracy.

Mr Anderson said getting all the trophies in one place was "pretty special" and he did not know when all would be in one place again.

Blenheim father Mark Witehira brought son Toby, 7, along to see the trophies to give him a better idea of what the teams were vying for.

"He's [Toby] seen a few test matches, but now hopefully he'll know what they're playing for," he said. Toby, who is registered to play in the under-8s league, was most impressed with the Bledisloe Cup because it was the biggest.

The Russian rugby team will be based in Blenheim during their RWC campaign.

- The Marlborough Express

SIMON WONG

Last updated 12:30 14/02/2011

Lucas Baker, 8, Riki Baker, 11 and Tama Baker, 11.

Brenon Gray

Toby Witehira, 7, with the Bledisloe Cup.

Renwick rugby player, Liam Annis 9

The Tahana family: Ben (dad), Dallas 7, Jayden 14 and Perry 10.

Simon Wong with the Webb Ellis Trophy.

Teens not guilty in baseball bat incident

Not guilty – that was the outcome of a four-day trial for Picton teenagers Joe Solomon Vaatuitui and Joe Stewart, who each faced a charge of injuring with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

The jury of six men and six women took about 1 1/2 hours to unanimously decide the fates of the 19-year-olds.

Family and supporters of both the accused, who were in court for the whole trial, wiped tears away as the verdicts were announced.

The third co-accused, Daniel Charles Hawkins, 19, of Picton, admitted the charge before the opening statements on Monday afternoon and will be sentenced on April 12.

Both had claimed they beat Eric Aitchison in self-defence after he confronted them and their friends with a metal baseball bat near the Shell petrol station in Picton in the early hours of February 21 last year.

Mr Aitchison suffered a split ear and a shattered eye socket which required reconstructive surgery.

In his closing statement, Crown prosecutor Mark O'Donoghue said both Stewart and Vaatuitui were involved in a "frenzied beating" of Mr Aitchison, who no longer posed a threat to them as soon as Vaatuitui disarmed him.

"He was unarmed and outnumbered and they knew it. He was at their mercy and defenceless. The tables were turned."

They were not defending themselves or any of the others they were with, he said.

In Vaatuitui's interview with a CIB detective which was played to the jury, he said he "knew we were doing wrong" when they hit Mr Aitchison, which Mr O'Donoghue said was "because they knew they weren't acting in self-defence".

Vaatuitui's defence lawyer, Mike Hardy-Jones, said the incident only allowed seconds to react.

"What's he supposed to do? He goes in and grabs the bat. The next thing you know, the bat gets pulled off – two punches, two seconds. That's it."

His client "did no more than to act and protect Mr Stewart", he said referring to Mr Aitchison who is said to have held the bat over his head ready to strike.

"On the ground and after he had taken the bat away, he gave two punches to subdue someone who he knew to be a violent, drunk man."

Stewart's defence counsel Rob Harrison said the teenagers were not out looking for trouble and were just out for a good night.

They were experiencing the "last of the summer wine" as the group, who played on the same rugby team, were going their separate ways.

"They we're not causing anyone any harm. They weren't looking to cause anyone any grief.

"Someone was coming at them with a bat and they defend themselves," he said.

"This was a reaction to a perceived threat."

On the issues of whether his client used "reasonable force" in defending himself, Mr Harrison said the bat "changes everything".

"If you saw someone coming at you with this [bat], what are they capable of?

"Do you stop to think, 'Gee, I have to be careful not to hurt him', or do you react to the threat that's in front of you?"

- The Marlborough Express Last updated 12:00 11/02/2011

Waikawa man preferred prison

The man who helped plan the robbery of the Cloudy Bay Business Park near Blenheim in October would have preferred a sentence of imprisonment than home detention because it would take away the temptation to reoffend, according to his defence counsel.

In the end he was spared both options, and given a sentence of community service.

Lawyer Philip Watson said a sentence of home detention for his client Francis Bronson Freemantle, 24, of Waikawa, "would only set him up for failure" because he would feel trapped and would want to take his electronic bracelet off.

Home detention is a sentence in which a person wears an electronically monitored bracelet and is confined to their home 24 hours a day.

Mr Watson said Freemantle could handle prison because he had no control over the conditions, however Freemantle was worried "temptation would override his better judgement" if he was placed on home detention.

Freemantle admitted conspiracy to commit burglary and three receiving charges.

Judge Michael Behrens sentenced Freemantle to four months' community detention, which involves a curfew, 150 hours' community work and 12 months' intensive supervision when he appeared in the Blenheim District Court yesterday.

Freemantle was not a recidivist burglar, although he had a previous burglary conviction so wasn't a first-time offender either, Judge Behrens said. He was "not someone who is at a point yet to go to prison".

Mr Watson said Freemantle had talked with another man about the robbery while both were performing community work and Freemantle agreed to give him a pair of bolt cutters.

However the robbery on October 30 last year did not turn out as planned and ended up being a knifepoint robbery, he said. More than $20,000 worth of electronic equipment, including 13 flat-screen televisions, was taken during the robbery.

Daniel Winiata Kemp, 22, of Blenheim, faces an aggravated robbery charge in relation of the robbery.

- The Marlborough Express Last updated 13:53 11/02/2011

Sister tells of vicious attack

The sister of a man who police believe was beaten by a group of teenagers yesterday described a "frenzy" of punches and kicks to her brother's body and how she thought he had been killed as a result.

Michelle Aitchison was giving evidence at the Blenheim District Court on the second day of the trial of Joe Solomon Vaatuitui, 19, and Joe Stewart, 19, both of Picton, who have denied injuring Picton man Eric Aitchison with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

The two are alleged to have been part of a group which attacked Mr Aitchison, 30, when he confronted them with a baseball bat in the early hours of February 21, 2010.

Defence counsel Rob Harrison and Mike Hardy-Jones said the teenagers were acting in self-defence.

Ms Aitchison said a group of six, including Vaatuitui and Stewart, were punching and kicking her brother near the Shell petrol station in Picton.

"It was like a frenzy. I thought they were going to kill him."

Asked whether she would be able to tell who threw individual punches during the "flurry" of action, Ms Aitchison pointed to Vaatuitui and Stewart in the dock.

"They were trying to kill my brother and I saw them. Those two faces I'll never, ever forget. I see them every night when I try to get to sleep," she said.

She cried as she told the jury her brother was lying in a foetal position to protect himself.

"I told them to leave him alone. I said I would sleep with all of them if that's what it would take for them to leave him alone. I didn't know how else to protect him."

After the attack, which happened "very quickly", she described how the group quickly left the area and her brother was "on the ground in a pool of blood".

"I touched him thinking he was dead. He was bleeding, his face was a mess and he was covered in blood. There was just blood everywhere."

Earlier that night, Ms Aitchison, her brother and a friend were at Mikey's Bar in Picton when a group of boys arrived from a party at their former rugby coach's house.

Both groups stayed at the bar until it closed and Mr Aitchison had heard one of the group call his sister a "slut" and that they wanted to "gang rape" her.

Ms Aitchison overheard part of a conversation between her brother and a member of the other group in which her brother said "You and me" to which Stewart replied "No, all of us".

Her brother looked both angry and worried, she said.

Stewart's counsel Rob Harrison said the statement she made to police several days after the incident made no mention of her brother challenging the boys outside the bar.

Ms Aitchison said she should have told police and denied she made the comments up.

The jury was also shown security camera footage from the petrol station forecourt of the group of six boys at 4.19am eating pies; at 4.22am a man is seen in the top of the screen lying on the road.

They also heard a written statement from the surgeon who performed reconstructive surgery on Mr Aitchison's left eye socket, saying he had broken bones in the inner wall of his eye socket consistent with a punch or punches.

The trial continues today.

- The Marlborough Express Last updated 12:00 09/02/2011

Teen protected victim in assault

A teenager lay over the top of a 16-year-old boy to protect him during an attack on Nelson St in Blenheim last year, police say.

Kaya Hinemaorea Walsh, 19, from Springlands, admitted her part in the beating of the boy when she appeared in Blenheim District Court yesterday.

Walsh pleaded guilty to a charge of assault.

Police prosecutor Sergeant Graham Single said Walsh had been at a party on the night of October 23 and was intoxicated.

She was walking along Nelson St with her partner when he started fighting with the victim, Mr Single said. Walsh's partner was knocked unconscious by the victim. The victim was then punched to the ground by Walsh's friends, he said.

Once on the ground the victim curled up in the foetal position to protect himself while people kicked and punched him.

Walsh was angered by what the victim had done to her boyfriend and later told police she hit the victim "once or twice", Mr Single said.

The group attack lasted several minutes.

"Witnesses described it as like a swarm of people involved in the assault."

Eventually a teenager arrived and pushed through the crowd and lay over the victim to protect him. However, the attack continued until members of the public pushed the crowd back and allowed the victim to be carried to a car, Mr Single said.

The crowd followed throwing objects at the car, which smashed the front windscreen. They then surrounded the car and began kicking it.

The victim required stitches to his left cheek and suffered significant bruising to his face and torso, he said.

Defence lawyer Kent Arnott said Walsh accepted the man was seriously beaten during the incident and she reacted badly.

Judge John Walker said Walsh's actions were not as severe as others involved in the incident.

He took into account her guilty plea and that she had not appeared before the court before and sentenced her to 40 hours community work.

- The Marlborough Express

Last updated 12:00 09/02/2011

Teen had large collection of porn

Police found tens of thousands of child pornography pictures and hundreds of movies when they raided a home in Blenheim last year.

An 18-year-old man, who has interim name suppression, appeared in the Blenheim District Court yesterday and admitted 21 charges of possessing objectionable material and a charge of distributing objectionable material.

Police withdrew five further charges.

The police summary of facts said police searched the house where the accused was living with his parents in March.

They found 21,775 pictures and 1281 movies on computer equipment, featuring children in sexual poses or involved in sexual conduct. The accused had used communication software, including Skype, between February and June 2009 to communicate with other users.

He was receiving and sending child pornography files, the summary said.

The man was remanded on bail to reappear for sentencing on March 22.

- The Marlborough Express Last updated 12:00 08/02/2011

Woman over limit twice in 12 hours

Blenheim woman has been caught drink-driving twice in less than 12 hours.

Shanae Dawn Manawatu, 21, a cleaner, from Redwoodtown, admitted two charges of drink-driving when she appeared in the Blenheim District Court yesterday.

Police prosector Sergeant Graham Single said Manawatu was found to have an excess breath alcohol reading of 1007 micrograms per litre of breath when she was stopped on Mclauchlan St at 11.35pm on November 26. The legal limit is 400mcg.

Her licence was immediately suspended for 28 days.

But at 9am the next day, the police stopped her on Maxwell Rd and Manawatu was found to have an excess breath alcohol reading of 520mcg, Mr Single said. She told police she was driving to pick up her car and take it home after the incident the night before.

She was convicted and released on bail to appear on March 7.

Other drink-driving charges dealt with yesterday included:

Kurt Alex Edward Collins, 24, a fisheries worker, of Waimate, excess breath alcohol of 631mcg, fined $1000, court costs and disqualified for nine months.

Maninder Singh, 28, of Blenheim, 774mcg, fined $600, court costs, disqualified for six months.

Vernon Clifton Shepherd, 63, of Blenheim, 445mcg, fined $600, court costs, disqualified for eight months.

Jolene Louise Higgins, 31, unemployed, of Blenheim, 643mcg, sentenced to 40 hours' community work, and disqualified for six months.

Luke John Hall, 40, 490mcg, remanded on bail to be sentenced on February 28.

Mary Anne Burgess, 51, healthcare assistant, of Blenheim, 497mcg. Fined $500 plus court costs, disqualified for six months.

Lisa Rawinia Hemo Grant, 20, excess blood alcohol of 104 milligrams (legal limit 80mg). Fined $300, court costs, disqualified for six months.

- The Marlborough Express Last updated 12:56 08/02/2011

Accused claim self defence

Two Picton teenagers alleged to have beaten a 30-year-old man after he confronted them with a baseball bat are claiming self defence in a jury trial, which began at the Blenheim District Court yesterday.

Joe Solomon Vaatuitui and Joe Stewart, both 19, have denied injuring Eric Aitchison with intent to cause grievous bodily harm after an incident early on February 21, 2010.

The third co-accused, Daniel Charles Hawkins, 19, of Picton, admitted the same charge before the opening statements yesterday afternoon and will be sentenced on April 12.

Crown prosecutor Mark O'Donoghue said the victim had become "angry and aggressive" after hearing one of the group outside Mikeys Bar in Picton on February 21 call a woman a "slut" and later that they should "gang rape" her.

He believed the comments were aimed at his sister.

Mr Aitchison, his sister and their friend walked toward the Shell petrol station on High St and were followed by the group.

The sister and friend bought food at Shell while Mr Aitchison went back to his Oxford St home to get a baseball bat. He sent his sister a text message saying he was coming back to see if she was OK.

He returned to the petrol station with the bat and began swinging at the group, but was disarmed by Vaatuitui.

Mr Aitchison was taken to the ground and was punched and kicked. The attack extensively damaged his left eye socket, which needed reconstructive surgery.

Vaatuitui's counsel, Mike Hardy-Jones, said self defence was using force reasonable in the circumstances.

"What do you do? Stand by and watch? You can do nothing or you can act," he said.

Mr Hardy-Jones said Vaatuitui caught the bat and the force caused the victim to fall to the ground, where Vaatuitui wrestled him and punched him in the face twice because he was resisting.

"If you think what I've described is what he [Vaatuitui] did than he's not guilty," he said.

Mr O'Donoghue said at the time of the attack, Mr Aitchison was unarmed and posed no threat to the group who, were "motivated by anger and revenge".

The trial, set to last five to seven days, continues today.

- The Marlborough Express Last updated 12:57 08/02/2011

Convicted after grabbing boy's genitals

A Picton man squeezed the genitals of a boy aged under 12 so hard that the boy screamed in pain, the Blenheim District Court has heard.

Jeffrey Laurence Brimble, 21, admitted three charges of assault when he appeared in court yesterday. The victim's name is suppressed.

Police prosecutor Sergeant Graham Single said Brimble grabbed the boy's genitals three times between July 11 and August 8, 2009.

On one occasion, the boy was left slightly bruised.

Brimble told police he did so by accident each time while he and the boy were play fighting, Mr Single said.

Defence lawyer Bryony Millar said Brimble accepted that the incidents were "rough-housing gone too far".

Judge John Walker took into account Brimble's early guilty plea and sentenced him to 200 hours' community work.

Didn't pay dentistsA Blenheim woman who found paying her dentist bills too painful admitted two charges of obtaining by deception.

Mr Single said Patricia-Rose Riddell, 25, a vineyard worker, of Riversdale, faked a phone call to her boyfriend in front of a receptionist after an appointment at Leonard and Koorey Dental Care on October 8. She told the receptionist she had to go and get money from him, but never returned.

In a separate incident, after treatment at Durrheim and Associates, she told a receptionist she had forgotten her wallet and would return to pay. Despite many phone calls, Riddle never paid.

Judge John Walker remanded Riddle on bail for sentencing on March 21.

Woman attackedA Blenheim woman attacked another woman with a fishing rod after she was knocked off her bicycle early on Sunday morning.

Glenda Suzanne Tengahue, 30, of Redwoodtown, admitted a charge of assault with a weapon.

Mr Single said Tengahue had collected the rod from a friend to go fishing later that day. She was riding home when she was knocked off her bike. It was unclear who knocked her off, but she hit a woman with the rod. The victim suffered a cut and swollen lip.

Defence lawyer John Holdaway said Tengahue had been pulled off her bike by her helmet and could have been seriously hurt. However, she accepted that she could have seriously hurt someone with the rod.

Judge Walker fined Tengahue $400.

Driver lost control A man who did a burnout and crashed highlighted the dangers of irresponsible driving, Judge Walker said.

Tristan Ryan Morrison, 19, admitted driving with a sustained loss of traction.

Mr Single said Morrison did an 80-metre burnout in Keiss St, lost control and hit a concrete fence about 1.15am on December 31. He fled the scene and went home.

"This demonstrates exactly what can happen when this sort of driving occurs. It's lucky no-one was hurt," Judge Walker said.

He fined Morrison $400 and disqualified him from driving for six months.Handbag snatched

A teenager snatched a handbag from a woman in Blenheim and then bragged about it to her friends, Mr Single said.

Lucretia Shantel Bullen, 17, of Riversdale, admitted charges of non-aggravated robbery and assault, relating to two separate incidents.

Mr Single said Bullen was heavily intoxicated when she walked up to a woman in Dillon St and demanded her handbag about 12.15am on January 22. She grabbed at the bag, which became tangled in the victim's jacket. Bullen kept pulling on it, yelling, "Give me the bag or I'll give you the bash".

The victim asked if she could take an item out of the bag, which only enraged Bullen further, Mr Single said. The terrified woman gave up her bag when Bullen threatened to punch her.

When the police arrived, Bullen fled into a house. She was found hiding behind a bedroom door.

In another incident, Bullen hit a man in the head with a shoe in Budge St at 11.30pm on January 28, Mr Single said. The man suffered cuts to his left ear and above his right eye.

Judge John Walker released her on bail to reappear for sentencing on March 21.

Other charges Darren Richmond Ward, 29, of Redwoodtown, admitted a charge of disorderly behaviour likely to cause violence and was fined $300.

Shaun Robert Senior, 29, unemployed of Renwick, admitted a charge of being found without excuse in an area in Sutherland Tce. He was convicted and discharged.

Mathew Paul Papa, 19, of Christchurch, admitted a charge of assault outside Kokomo bar early on Sunday morning. He was fined $400.

Marlon James Mullen, 19, of Redwoodtown, admitted smoking cannabis and possessing utensils. He was fined $500.

Benjamin Scott Rogers, 24, admitted a charge of disorderly behaviour. He was fined $300.

Jayden Shayne North, 19, admitted a charge of wilful trespass and was fined $300.

Bonnie Ray Harley Schuster, 18, admitted charges of intentional damage, loitering near a house with intent to frighten, and driving while disqualified. She was ordered to pay $586 reparation and sentenced to 60 hours' community work.

- The Marlborough Express

Last updated 13:05 08/02/2011

Unhappy camper admits assault

A forestry worker who beat up a man for putting human faeces in his girlfriend's handbag implied to police he would do it again if faced with a similar situation.

Lance James Mackel, 20, yesterday admitted a charge of assaulting Wellington man Andrew Carman with intent to injure when he appeared in the Blenheim District Court.

He was convicted and remanded to appear for sentencing on March 21.

Police prosecutor Sergeant Graham Single said Mackle told police Mr Carman "deserved everything he got for doing a disgusting, offensive act".

"He was not remorseful about his actions and implied he would do it again."

Mr Carman had been charged for his part in the incident, Mr Single said.

The incident erupted at a Department of Conservation campground in Cow Shed Bay early on November 28 after Mr Carman, a camper at the ground, walked to a campsite where loud music had been playing all night, he said.

He was not happy about the noise and wanted to tell the noisy campers what he thought and get their car registration numbers, he said.

But there was no one at the campsite. He saw a pile of human faeces and in a "spur of the moment decision" shovelled the faeces through the open window of a nearby car and into a handbag on the front seat, Mr Single said.

He did not think anyone had seen him and he walked back to his campsite. However, a friend of Mackle saw the incident.

Mackle confronted Carman, chased him and punched him in the head several times. Mr Carman was knocked unconscious.

Other campers saw the attack and stopped Mackle from continuing, Mr Single said.

Mackle left and returned a short time later but was not allowed to see Mr Carman because others believed he would assault him again, he said.

Mr Carman was concussed and suffered severe bruising to his face, head and jaw, a cut to his eye brow and memory loss.

His right eye was blackened and swollen and he could not see out of it for several days, Mr Single said.

He had also been diagnosed with a broken clavicle.

- The Marlborough Express Last updated 12:03 08/02/2011

Date set for wetland case

Tuamarina farmer Philip Woolley is due to appear in the Environment Court next month to answer charges related to a drainage channel that was dug into a Department of Conservation (DOC) wetland near Rarangi.

DOC has laid seven charges against Mr Woolley under the Reserves Act, while the Marlborough District Council had laid up to five charges against him under the Resource Management Act.

At a callover in the Blenheim District Court yesterday, the hearing was set for March 7 and 8.

Lawyers for DOC and the council said they would present nine witnesses.

Mr Woolley did not say whether he would call anyone to the stand.

Mr Woolley said he would argue that the Environment Court did not have jurisdiction to hear a charge under the Reserves Act, which could result in part of the case being delayed.

The case will be heard by Environment Court judge Brian Dwyer.

The Marlborough District Council will be represented by Blenheim lawyer Miriam Radich and DOC by crown prosecutor Hugh Boyd-Wilson and lawyer Rachael Ennor, both of Nelson.

Mr Woolley will represent himself.

The incident at issue took place at the Hinepango coastal wetland in May last year.

- The Marlborough Express

Last updated 12:00 04/02/2011

Sentencing of dope grower delayed again

The sentencing of a convicted cannabis grower and supplier, whose Picton house may be seized by the police, has been delayed for a third time, after he was assigned a new lawyer.

A day-long disputed facts hearing and sentencing for Gary Walter Tittleton, 64, a sickness beneficiary of Picton, was due to take place in the Blenheim District Court yesterday, but lawyer Rob Harrison had just been assigned and needed more time to work on the case.

Tittleton's previous lawyer was Gary Sawyer.

Tittleton's case has been adjourned at least twice since his original sentencing date of February 11, 2010.

Judge Tony Zohrab said the case "regrettably" had to be adjourned again so Tittleton could be properly represented.

His bail was continued, and a nominal date of February 21 set for his next appearance.

Tittleton admitted charges of cultivating cannabis and possessing cannabis for supply in December 2009, after the police searched his Picton home on September 21 that year.

The police found nearly 2.5 kilograms of cannabis, and cultivation and harvesting equipment, as well as a plant nursery with lights, irrigation and fertilising systems under his house.

Crown prosecutors want to take Tittleton's house under the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act 2009, which allows the seizure of assets, including houses, vehicles or household items, involved in or used in certain criminal acts. The order means Tittleton cannot sell the house before his sentencing.

- The Marlborough Express Last updated 12:00 04/02/2011

Teen admits car thefts

A teenager with a fondness for taking Subaru Legacy cars for joy rides admitted being behind a spate of vehicle thefts throughout Blenheim, and bragged about committing similar crimes in other towns.

Dominique Wilson, 17, a vineyard worker, of Blenheim, admitted nine charges of unlawfully taking a motor vehicle and eight charges of theft when he appeared in the Blenheim District Court yesterday.

Eight of the cars Wilson took were Subaru Legacys. The other was a van.

Wilson was remanded in custody until sentencing on March 7 by Judge Tony Zohrab. During his appearance, his first before any court, Wilson bragged about similar offending he had done in Hamilton and Gisborne.

Police prosecutor sergeant Graham Single said the police had noticed a big rise in car break-ins before Christmas, about the same time Wilson came to Blenheim.

Wilson was breaking into the Subarus and going for joy rides while drunk, he said.

He said Wilson took items from cars six times and shoplifted twice.

Charge sheets in court show the offending began on December 21 and ended on January 27 and the value of all stolen items amounted to $13,366.10. Most of the items had not been recovered.

Wilson had not previously appeared in any court before, but had "very regular interactions" with the police since 2008, Mr Single said.

Defence lawyer Bryony Millar said Wilson grew up in Hamilton, but his parents lived in Blenheim. He moved to Gisborne to look for work, but was living with his aunt in Blenheim.

- The Marlborough Express

Last updated 15:05 04/02/2011

Hothouse hobby

Growing your own vegetables is good for the budget, creates a healthy, home-based hobby – and brings social rewards if excess produce is shared with friends.

Simon Wong vouches for all these benefits, following his foray into gardening this summer.

The former Aucklander, who moved to Marlborough to work on the Express, says he had never given much thought to where or how vegetables and fruit were cultivated, much less considered personally tilling the soil.

Then he moved to Blenheim, and the house he started flatting in last September already had a hothouse and a patch of land where silverbeet and asparagus grew.

"Nobody ate the silverbeet and it had gone to seed," he said.

So had the asparagus.

By mid to late-October he started making garden plans.

Reducing the flat's grocery bill was the first good reason for growing vegetables, he says.

"And I just wanted something to do."

Flatmate Anna Hewson liked his idea and she and her parents, who own the house, helped Simon get started.

He had already pulled out the silverbeet and transplanted the asparagus to create a bare patch of land.

In one afternoon Simon, Anna and her parents spread bags of compost and rotting sawdust over it, then covered the surface with pea straw to help retain moisture.

"I had no idea what I was doing," Simon says.

But he now speaks informatively of the different procedures.

A glance at the garden makes him look like an old hand.

Excess cucumbers and zucchini had to be given away, thinned carrots are maturing, potatoes are nearly ready to dig, broccoli, cauliflower and lettuces are forming heads and beetroot will soon be ready to pick for Simon's other flatmate – a chef – to pickle.

Simon leads the way into the hothouse where tall roma and cherry tomato plants are dripping with fruit.

"These ... are what I'm most proud of," he says, lifting a branch and removing a lateral stem.

"You have to trim the laterals to focus the growth," he explains.

"So I'm told, anyway."

- The Marlborough Express

Last updated 08:28 04/02/2011

Home-grown: Simon Wong holds some vegetables freshly harvested from his garden.

Ban hits Countdown outlet

A eight-day ban on selling liquor at the Countdown supermarket in Seymour St, Blenheim, began yesterday after the store was caught selling alcohol to a minor during a controlled purchasing operation.

The suspension started at 7am yesterday and finishes at 7am on February 10.

The moratorium also comes at the same time as the popular Blues, Brews and BBQs festival on February 5.

Luke Schepen, a spokesman for Progressive Enterprises, which owns Countdown supermarkets, said he did not know how much money the store would lose as a result of having its liquor licence suspended.

He could not say what proportion of overall sales at the store were alcohol.

Countdown staff member Robert Bruce Hardy's general manager's certificate was also suspended for four weeks from January 31 in the Liquor Licensing Authority decision released in December.

The Countdown in central Blenheim was caught during an operation in which two volunteers younger than 18 were sent to buy alcohol from 20 stores in Blenheim, Seddon, Renwick, Spring Creek and Picton on June 9.

The supermarket had also been caught selling alcohol to under-18s in June 2006 and March 2008.

When asked whether the company would review its procedures on selling alcohol, Mr Schepen said the company already had "very stringent rules" in all its stores.

"It was unfortunate that they were not adhered to in this case," he said.

Liquor sales at the stores are authorised by the customer service supervisor on duty, who checks customers' ID before approving a sale. Every refusal is put in a log book.

Two other Blenheim outlets were caught during the sting.

Blenheim Liquorland had its licence suspended for 24 hours from 8am yesterday.

Max Lester Barratt's general manager's certificate was suspended for three weeks from January 3.

Tip Top Store owner Xiang Lin admitted selling alcohol without a licence when he appeared in the Blenheim District Court in August. He was fined $400 and ordered to pay $130 court costs.

- The Marlborough Express

SIMON WONG

Last updated 12:00 03/02/2011

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