A ruined picnic area at Queen Elizabeth Park. PHOTO/GEORGE SHIERS
Hoons donut respect our park
GEORGE SHIERS
[email protected]
Vandalism to a picnic area at Queen Elizabeth Park in Masterton has council and the community upset, but so far nobody has owned up to the damage.
Vehicles raced around a patch of grass by the lake over the weekend, tearing up the turf and turning the area to mud.
Masterton district councillor Gary Caffell said it was ‘just sad’ to see the damage.
“I can’t believe it. That place was all done up and now it’s ruined.
“We’ve done a lot of work over the last few years bringing the park up to a really good standard, we get comments from people all over New Zealand about our park, and when you see that sort of thing it makes you really sad.”
Caffell said the works to repair the park could take months and he expected the people responsible could do the same thing again.
“As it gets muddier there is a chance we will see more of it [that behaviour].
“I would appeal to those that did this and say look at what you’re doing and consider other people.”
A spokesperson for Masterton District Council said it was disappointing to see a shared space ruined.
“This is a community asset and it’s disappointing to see individuals damaging it.
“If we had evidence of who did it then the matter would be referred to police.”
Those who know who is responsible were encouraged to come forward, and people who see others racing around on grass areas were encouraged to record the activity, if it was safe to do so.
