Louts draw village ire

By Alison Noonan
NEIGHBOURHOOD Watch will be keeping a close eye on the Warneet General Store after concerns about loutish behaviour.
President Bill D’Oliviera said the group had received several complaints from frustrated residents about excessive noise, swearing, drink cans being kicked around and young people hanging around outside the coastal village store.
He said police had been alerted to the trouble, which was prevalent at night.
Warneet General Store manager Ferdi Muaremov said the store’s fuel pump was broken last week and the mailbox filled with liquid.
“We have three pumps and one of the fuel nozzles was broken,” he said.
“It was out of order for a few days until it was repaired, which cost us profits and was inconvenient for our customers.
“We were also forced to fork out extra money for the repair bill.”
Mr Muaremov said the drama had decreased in the last month but was still cause for concern.
“We had a real problem with young kids hanging around and dumping rubbish outside the store but that died down after I yelled at them,” he said.
“It mostly occurs on weekends but it’s not as bad as it was a month ago.”
Acting Senior Sergeant Gavin Buchan of Cranbourne Police said police would continue extra patrols of the area and encouraged residents to report trouble immediately.
“We had a bit of trouble around the coastal villages last year but it’s been pretty good recently as far as I’m aware.
“We have been patrolling down there as much as possible and will continue to push both marked and unmarked patrols.
“I would remind residents to contact 000 as soon as trouble occurs so we can get down there as soon as possible,” he said.