Dancing taggers pulled off net | Northland News | Local News in Northland

Videos posted on the internet to "humiliate" two alleged Northland taggers snowballed out of control before they were removed, according to the man who posted the clips.

The three clips called "Dont Tag my Fence" got more than 4000 hits in 48 hours on YouTube before they were removed on Tuesday.

The Whangarei home owner known as Izzy and his partner Tracey decided they would take matters into their own hands before police arrived and made two men aged 18 and 20, thought to have tagged his garden fence, dance for about 40 minutes.

The couple videoed the dancing on Saturday night and posted the clips on the internet site YouTube on Sunday.

When police arrived they also filmed the dancing antics on their cellphones.

It has sparked a police investigation which will consider the actions of Izzy and Tracey, the taggers and also officers called to the incident. Izzy told the Northern Advocate yesterday his intention was to humiliate the taggers but he never thought the clips would generate such public interest.

"I'm not a vigilante - I just don't like people tagging my fence. This has snowballed and I never imagined it would have got this much coverage," he said. "There were no threats, violence or weapons used at all."

News there was to be a police investigation surrounding the videoing was now his biggest concern. "I'm the victim of crime but now I'm losing sleep and worrying about a police investigation," Izzy said.

"I did something to humiliate them for doing something to my property. I've done that ... end of story."

In the Whangarei District Court yesterday, police offered diversion to one of the alleged taggers. Karl Matthew Trail, 20, of Whakapara, appeared on a charge of wilful damage before a deputy registrar.

Duty solicitor Kelly Hennessy asked if an intimated guilty plea could be entered and the matter be put off for a later date. Trail allegedly spraypainted a fence in High St, Otaika, on September 2.

As diversion has been offered by police, Trail might not be required to re-appear in court on October 18.