The mayor of the Derwent Valley says it “doesn’t get more pathetic” than the people who tore up two local sports grounds, just before a children’s footy game.
Tynwald Park and the New Norfolk Sports Centre were left covered in deep tyre ruts and burnout marks after vehicles were driven across the turf on Saturday night.
In a blunt social media post, Michelle Dracoulis blamed hoons.
“It doesn’t get more pathetic than this,” she said.
“Destroying kid’s footy grounds the night before game day.”
Dracoulis said New Norfolk had faced “another round of unrestrained hooning” and that she was having to talk locals out of taking matters into their own hands.
She called for a statewide response.
“Give us police to arrest these idiots, crush their cars, take their bikes and protect the 99% of us who do the right thing,” she said.
The New Norfolk Junior Football Club bore the brunt of the damage, with Tynwald Park its home ground.
The club said it was forced to cancel all of Sunday’s games and suspend nightly training until further notice.
“… The wilful, reckless, blatant and deliberate act of vandalism against our home ground at Tynwald Park has left our club saddened,” club president Justin Derksen said.
He said the small youth club took pride in caring for its grounds, which are also used by the New Norfolk Cricket Club.
Derksen said the club would chase those responsible for the cost of repairs and its financial losses.
Sunday’s games were moved to Boyer Oval, hosted by the New Norfolk District Football Club at short notice.
The Derwent Valley Council also condemned the damage, which it said happened across several public open spaces.
“Council is extremely disappointed by the acts of vandalism that occurred across public open spaces, Tynwald Park and New Norfolk Sports Centre,” it said in a statement.
The council said ratepayers would foot the bill for repairs and the damage would stop community members, sporting groups and families from using the grounds.
It said it was working with Tasmania Police and that the areas were under camera surveillance.
The council urged anyone with information to contact police.
It also renewed its push for round-the-clock policing in the region.
“Council has consistently and strongly advocated for 24-hour police presence and has recently raised the matter again with [the state government],” it said.
Council staff are assessing the damage and will work with user groups on any impact to upcoming bookings.
