Vandals are arriving in cars to target at least one house in Thornton where they rip open the meter box and turn off the electricity, a resident told the Mercury yesterday.
The woman, who asked not to be named, said her house had been a target on three occasions recently.
“On Monday night I was in bed when I heard a car pull up outside our house,” she said.
“It was about 10pm and all the electricity went off.
“I heard the kids running down the side of the house, then drive away after they turned off our power.
“We turned it back on, of course, but this was the latest of several incidents recently and it is stressful.”
Last week the vandals struck too – and the family had no hot water when they returned home.
“We think the power had been turned off early in the morning and remained off for the day,” the woman said.
An Energy Australia spokesman said residents should apply to them for a special lock that would foil people trying to break into their electricity boxes.
“As an emergency, people can put their own locks on the boxes,” the spokesman said.
“But we prefer them to apply for our special locks, for which we have the keys.
“This means our staff members are the only ones who can open the boxes when they come to read the meters.”
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