A Ballina couple have spoken of their shock after waking to find large signs falsely accusing them of being paedophiles nailed and pinned outside their home, despite having no criminal history and no apparent connection to the allegations.

The couple, who are known to Ballina News Daily but have asked not to be identified to protect their privacy, discovered the signs when they woke on Friday morning.

One had been nailed to a tree at the front of their property, while another had been stretched across the front lawn, ensuring the messages were clearly visible to neighbours and passing traffic.

The signs falsely claimed paedophiles lived at the address and urged members of the public to be wary of the occupants.  The allegations were entirely untrue.

Neighbours quickly gathered as word spread through the quiet street, struggling to understand why the family had been targeted.

One resident described the incident as deeply distressing for everyone in the area.

“It was the wrong house, the wrong street, the wrong people,” the homeowner said.

“We have absolutely no idea why someone would do this.”

The couple both work in the care sector, with one employed as a teacher. They have exemplary employment records and no criminal history.

The surrounding neighbourhood is home largely to retirees, including former teachers and long-serving community members who have spent their lives contributing to the district.

Several neighbours told Ballina News Daily they were stunned by what had happened in the early hours of last Friday and said the accusations could not have been further from the truth.

One of the offensive signs painted on bedsheets was pinned to the lawn, (above), while the other was nailed to a tree (main image).

One described the incident as “heartbreaking”, saying the family had been publicly humiliated over allegations that were completely false.

The matter was reported to NSW Police.

The couple said they were advised there was little police could do because no criminal offence had been identified.

The incident has left them questioning whether whoever erected the signs simply targeted the wrong address or whether it was a malicious attempt to intimidate innocent people.

Whatever the explanation, they say the emotional impact has been profound.

The latest incident occurred just a few hundred metres from another high-profile Ballina case that sparked concerns about vigilantism.

In June, Shane Roy Jones pleaded guilty to secretly filming women inside the public toilets at Tamar Street Village. Before the matter was finalised, he was allegedly assaulted by masked men outside a nearby River Street motel, with witnesses alleging the attackers repeatedly struck him while yelling “pedo” before fleeing.

At the time, police warned members of the community not to take the law into their own hands, stressing that justice should be left to the courts.

For the innocent Ballina family caught up in last week’s incident, those warnings have taken on a deeply personal meaning.

Instead of targeting someone accused of serious offending, whoever erected the signs publicly branded two innocent people with one of society’s most damaging allegations.

As the homeowner put it, whoever was responsible had targeted “the wrong house, the wrong street, the wrong people.”

COMMENT: This is exactly why justice belongs in the courts, not on the street