Tokoroa tough guys

There are some really tough guys loose on the streets of Tokoroa; the Herald reports:

Bob Gabolinscy never realised his forehead was streaming with blood after a group of young men attacked him with a pack of pre-mixed drinks outside his home late at night.

He was too worried about rescuing his wife Margaret, who tried to reason with the men - and got a punch in the face and a black eye for her trouble.

Mr Gabolinscy was shutting the front gate on his Weka Place property in Tokoroa about 10pm on Thursday night when he heard three young men punching the fence that separated a walkway from their home.

The 73-year-old says he turned to the men and said: "Don't you have any respect for people's property?"

In response, the men walked over to the gate he was standing behind and started kicking it. They were each carrying a box of a dozen cans of Cody's pre-mixed bourbon and cola.

Mr Gabolinscy screamed at them to stop. As he walked inside to call the police, the men started hurling full cans of the alcohol at the back of his head, leaving a nasty gash.

"They chucked about 12 or 14 at me," Mr Gabolinscy said.

Mrs Gabolinscy, who was inside putting wood on the fire, walked out to confront them.

"They were yelling and still chucking cans and I said, 'Look, go away'," she said.

"They were yelling, 'Come out, you old man'."

Then the largest man in the group, who Mrs Gabolinscy described as a "heffalump", walked up to her and punched her right eye.

The 75-year-old fell back on to the couple's car, sliding down and hitting her elbow as she landed on the concrete driveway.

She was dazed and blood was streaming down her face. She now has a black eye and the right side of her face is covered with a purple bruise.

Mr Gabolinscy walked outside, was horrified to see his wife slumped on the ground and began screaming and swearing at the men.

The men ran off up Weka Place leaving cans scattered over the couple's lawn. Police later found another full box of Cody's on a verge across the road.

A neighbour found the distressed couple in a state of shock. Mr Gabolinscy had been so concerned about his wife that he hadn't realised he had a large cut on his head.

Sheesh; you have to be a REALLY hard man to punch a 75-year-old woman in the face. Here's hoping that one of the people whom these thugs will doubtless have boasted about their bravery to has the decency to shop them to the Police.

And at the same time, these punks have given those who support an increase in the drinking age, or the split purchase age option plenty of ammunition.