A picture of a suburban Australian yard has sparked outrage online with it appearing to show a Perth resident stealing water from their elderly neighbours.
The photo, shared to Reddit on Wednesday, shows the side of a house where a hose is connected to a tap that is then stretched over a tall fence and into the adjacent property.
The Redditor said it was their parent’s house and they had just arrived back from overseas.
‘So I caught my elderly parent’s neighbours stealing from my parents,’ the man alleged.
‘They have been away for a few weeks on holidays to visit relatives in the old country and they came back to a more than $300 water bill.’
‘Well now we know why.’
‘I caught the neighbour red handed, I’m assuming she thought they weren’t back yet.’
The photo appears to show the neighbours have hooked their hose up to an adjacent property
The Redditor added that the neighbour gave the excuse she was ‘testing’ because she had seen a her nearby builder doing the same thing.
‘I asked the builder and he said he had used water from the another house that’s just been built.’
They said the neighbour stopped responding when they asked her what exactly she was testing and why she had not asked.
‘What can my parents do? They are pensioners and this is a lot of money for them.’
Commenters on the post were furious with many labelling the act ‘theft, plain and simple’.
‘See how green all their trees and shrubs are… water costs a fortune,’ one said.
‘Make a stand for your parents now or the neighbours will think they’re a soft touch and try it or something else again,’ another said.
‘I’m outraged on your parents behalf,’ added a third.
Redditors urged the homeowner to report it after they were hit with a huge water bill
A recent WA Water Corp employee advised the proper process was to file a police report then to email Water Corp with the case number, the picture, and the details of her parents overseas travel.
The said it would then be straightforward that the charge is removed.
Others pointed out the neighbour would appear to have been trespassing to access their property and that there are cheap products available which can lock taps.
The Redditor said her parents were hesitant to ‘escalate’ but they would do something on their behalf as they felt they shouldn’t have to pay the bill.
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