Burglary fight: victim shaken

A Hamilton man stabbed in the back says he had no hesitation in wrestling with a young woman who entered his Nawton house on Tuesday night.

However, he expects a few sleepless nights as he comes to terms with how wrong the incident could have gone.

Police have also warned people not to take matters into their own hands saying they risk "tragic circumstances".

"We would prefer people capture details and descriptions rather than place themselves at risk," city area commander Inspector Rob Lindsay said.

The 27-year-old Nawton man, who did not want to identified, was stabbed in the back with a steak knife when he confronted two young women who entered his house about 11pm on Tuesday.

"The doctors said I was pretty lucky that it didn't puncture the lung," he said yesterday.

The father of one was asleep with his pregnant wife when he heard noises on Tuesday night. He went into the lounge, thinking it was just his cat, and saw a woman standing by a door.

"So I chased after her and caught her."

When she got loose from his grip, he continued to chase her through his backyard and got hold of her again.

That's when she bit him, ripping a chunk of flesh from his left arm.

"Then I saw someone else in the corner of my eye. I felt something in my back. I thought it was just a scratch, but then I felt blood dripping down my back."

The man ran into the house and locked the doors, while his wife rang the police. His two-year-old daughter remained asleep in another room.

A neighbour saw a woman trying to escape through a gate, so he kicked it shut to prevent her leaving.

He was able to maintain his hold on her until police arrived.

"I feel pretty fine really," the stabbed man said. "Just a bit shocked. My ribs are pretty sore too."

His left arm is bandaged where he was bitten. Though the stab wound was superficial, it had been dressed but the man did not anticipate lasting damage.

The couple spent the rest of Tuesday night at another house, but said they couldn't stay away from their house forever.

"I guess we'll just sleep in shifts or sleep with one eye open. But really we were lucky, everything turned out all right in the end."

The couple had been considering moving from the house they've rented for a year because it was going on the market. Tuesday's attack had cemented their plans.

Police have arrested and charged two women – aged 15 and 22 – over the attack.

The 15-year-old appeared in the Youth Court yesterday on charges of burglary, aggravated wounding and possession of an offensive weapon.

The 22-year-old was charged with aggravated wounding and burglary.

- © Fairfax NZ News