Anger and frustration continues to be aimed at local body election hoardings and candidates - with a knife found in a sign this week.

SunLive contacted candidates in the Te Papa-Welcome Bay Ward to ask about damage to their signs and if they have experienced any other forms of abuse.

The knife was found stabbed through the face of Anna Larsen's sign in Welcome Bay, but she isn't taking the attack personally.

'I'd already found another knife with some signs that have been vandalised and I'm pretty sure that it was just mischief making.”

Anna thinks it was probably just some kids acting out rather than a direct attack on her.

'If it was an adult, I'd be more concerned but I suspect that it's not an adult. It was a broken knife that they'd obviously found. Even if they had deliberately done it, I still think it's not personal.”

This knife attack is just one of many instances of damage to signs around Tauranga.

Placards on Oropi Road have been extensively damaged with faces cut out and swapped onto other signs - this is where Anna found the first knife whilst putting some of her signs back up.

'I think some of it definitely is deliberate because the ones on Oropi Road that all got smashed up are not on the road to somewhere. I think that that was more deliberate but not personal.”

Waitsu Wu had her face cut out of one sign and swapped with Tenby Powell's.

She feels the attacks have been personal and has also experienced racial abuse on her social media.

'I would say it is personal because some of the signs were intentionally forced down to the ground.”

She says most of her signs have not only been uprooted or broken but have had the face punched in or cut out.

Waitsu is very scared by the vandalism and has reported some of the incidents to the police.

'I make sure if I am home my windows and doors are locked. I have my phone on standby at night. I look back a lot when I am on the street to deliver my flyers.”

The taunts on social media have been racially charged.

'Go back to Taiwan,” one commenter said.

Another said 'Immigration has skewed our culture, destroyed our infrastructure and ensured basic utilities including healthcare will never cope. Next stage is increasing Chinese involvement in and ownership of primary producing sectors and land development to name a few areas."

Waitsu says the vandalism and abuse is a sign that our society is losing community spirit, respect for other people and not caring about other people's feelings.

Jim Sherlock says damage to his signs has occurred mainly near Fraser Cove and in Welcome Bay.

'The first sign damage was in Welcome Bay where the driver of a vehicle mounted the curb, drove over the footpath and only destroyed my sign.”

He says the cost of replacing the signs is nothing compared to the time it takes to replace them and Anna agrees.

'I think the worst thing that it's tedious doing it and it's tedious that people have this level of frustration that they just need to lash out and smash something,” Anna says.

AJ Tuhoro is an exception and none of his signs have been damaged to date.

He says this is probably because he hasn't placed signs in areas that are regular targets for vandalism.

'Based on what I have seen I believe there is a mix of general vandalism and quite personal and direct attacks on candidates.

'The blade could be innocent and part of a practical joke however at the extreme end it could be vindictive.”

He hasn't experienced any other anger from the public during this campaign but has witnessed it towards other candidates.

'Being relatively new to local body politics, I was somewhat aware that it is impossible to please every person in our city and as a result your position may and highly likely will fuel negative reactions.”

Rob Poad hasn't been the target of public frustration either but has seen 'plenty of anger in this campaign”.

'I believe there is a lot of anger with council, no matter who is voted in, it seems we get the same result. People are looking for change, and this frustration is being expressed.”

He says his signs are being damaged a couple of times a week, one has been cut up and seven knocked over.

Hoardings near Fraser Cover are constantly being hit and Jim feels this is general vandalism so he has removed his signs from there as a result.

Anna says there needs to be a conversation about whether or not election signs are used in future.

'I think we need to be a little bit more progressive and innovative.

'We spend a lot of money on plastic signs that have got very little future use. Once they're damaged to the extent that many of them have been we probably won't be able to use them in the future.”

She has made her signs generic in case she decides to run next election and says other candidates have plans to recycle theirs.

One candidate has plans to use some of their signs to make rooves for hen houses and others will be used at schools or kindergartens for art, she says.

Anna says both knife attacks to the signs have been reported to the police.