Downed lines fail to impress neighbour

The last time trees interfered with power lines near Tamahere, 50,000 homes went without electricity and emergency services raced in on high alert.

So you could understand the mixture of alarm and bemusement of Cedar Park Rd resident Garry Snowling when, four days after he first reported a massive tree having fallen across lines near the roadside at Annebrook Rd, wires have remained pinned under the fallen tree trunk with no sign of any repair work.

A Wel Networks linesman told the Waikato Times the low voltage lines, connected to an old farm pumphouse, were not live, and had been out of action for several years.

But that didn't impress Mr Snowling.

"You'd have to say it is still a hazard," he said. "For anyone driving along here, they see a tree down and lines all over the place and are not to know somebody isn't trapped in there.

"Imagine the panic if you saw schoolkids playing around there."

Mr Snowling said if somebody cut the wires at either end it wouldn't give the appearance of a potential hazard.

"At the very least they could put a sign up saying: `Don't worry about it, they're not live'."

- © Fairfax NZ News