A 79-year-old Wairoa man is in hospital after being attacked in his bed in an early-morning home invasion yesterday.
Detective Sergeant Sam Park said the attacker broke into the Brian Ave home and attacked the man, before leaving with a cell phone and portable landline phone.
The victim remains in hospital in a serious but stable condition.
The attacker is described as being about 170cm (5'7") tall and of slim build. His face was covered with a scarf during the incident.
"Police acknowledge that an incident like this can be very distressing and cause wider concern within our community," Park said.
"This kind of behaviour will not be tolerated, and we would like to reassure the public that we are doing all we can to identify and locate this individual to hold them to account for their actions."
Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 105, with the file number 230426/7511.
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