A teenager is facing several driving offences, including intentional damage, after he allegedly tore up a rugby club’s fields in Auckland’s northwest over the weekend.
The 19-year-old also had his newly-purchased vehicle impounded.
Kumeū Rugby Club president Glenn Wheeler said in a statement to Facebook on Saturday morning that “some degenerates” had caused major damage to parts of the club’s two fields.
“It’s heartbreaking for our Kumeū Rugby Club & the community to have this kind of stuff going on.”
Drone footage provided to 1News shows the extent of the damage, with tyre tracks spanning two fields.
Police received reports of the damage on Saturday morning. (Source: Supplied)
Sergeant Graham Bennett said police received reports of the rugby fields being damaged on Saturday morning.
“A furore ensued on the community grapevines given a prized community asset had been damaged. Information was quickly passed onto police which was followed up and a vehicle of interest was identified.”
Bennett thanked those at the rugby club and members of the public for their assistance which led to the arrest.
Wheeler told 1News that Auckland Council were aiming “do everything in their power” to have the field up and running by Saturday for Club Day.
“It’s mostly superficial damage, but some of the bigger holes will need sand to fill them up.”
He also thanked everyone who helped to contribute to finding the offender.
“Unfortunately the satisfaction of finding the perpetrator doesn’t take away the extreme disappointment of having our fields wrecked.”
The 19-year-old was expected to appear in Waitākere District Court at a later date on an intentional damage charge alongside other driving offences.