Glad tidings Wānaka with Christmas just around the corner.

So, what have your team in blue been up to this week?

Well, it has been a very busy week with our old favourite, driving complaints, coming in thick and fast.

Many of these relate to rental cars but we still are getting the odd local who feels it is OK to drive very sub standardly. Please remember being a local doesn’t give you carte blanch to ignore road rules.

We have had a couple of drink drivers pop up this week, one coming off the back of a driving complaint. The person was apprehended in town where there were many families around. This also involved an escaped dog - slow speed foot pursuit to get the dog back. Once recovered, the driver blew almost four times the legal limit and a date with the judiciary is awaiting.

A few minor crashes have occurred about the area as well. Some of this as the weather turned wetter. Please drive to the conditions as I’m sure we haven’t seen the last of the rain yet.

We had a report this week of some young angels deciding to destroy road signs and Christmas decorations out at Lake Hāwea. Hay bales and pallets were strewn all over the place near the community hall. Parents, if your young ones came in one night covered in hay, we would love to hear from you and maybe pop them on Santa’s naughty list.

Albert Town Campground saw some residents trespassed this week as their behaviour fell well below the expected within the campsite. One person was arrested for assault and trespassed with the others.

Well, who would have thought that with the festive season creeping up our old friend, 'Mr Alcohol', would start to make himself known? There have been several people trespassed from bars in town due to allowing him to get the better of them. One person was arrested for assault on bar staff on Friday night and will have to head over the hill to Queenstown court just before Christmas to answer to it.

We may bleat on about it but remember when you’re drunk trying to be smart doesn’t come off too well, and we have a low tolerance for such behaviour. So please drink responsibly and look after your mates when you are out.

We are filling up with people in town and as such finding somewhere to put your car is becoming harder. There are quite a lot of parking spaces that now extend along the waterfront.

It is noticeable though that laziness still rules when buying your food from downtown and parking in non-allocated areas is rife. Just off Ardmore Street isn’t the “locals” parking area and often others legally parked get blocked in or find it difficult to get out of their spaces by inconsiderate motorists. So be warned, I have a parking ticket book and I’m not afraid to use it, even it gets me featured on “Wānaka Bad Parking”.

Let’s also not forget that this time of year isn’t always fun for everyone so please be considerate of others, be nice to the staff working in the shops, give yourself an extra few minutes for your journeys and I’m sure we can all have a good Christmas.

So until next time, stay safe, be considerate and respectful of others, and have a great week.