Hoon rampage rips up sport field

HOONS have gone on a rampage at a Coast sporting field, causing thousands of dollars worth of damage.

Hoons have gone to great lengths to rip up Landsborough’s Peace Memorial Park. Picture: Contributed

HOONS have gone on a rampage at a Coast sporting field, causing thousands of dollars worth of damage.

The wrought iron gates of Landsborough's Peace Memorial Park weren't enough to keep them from ripping up the turf with a vehicle on Friday night.

The ground is home to the Landsborough Cricket Club and maintained by volunteers in conjunction with the council.

Cricket club life member David McIntyre said the offenders removed the bollards from in front of the fence and drove through it before smashing through a separate piece of fencing on their way out.

"They lifted the bollards and drove straight through the fence," Mr McIntyre said.

"They then proceeded on to the ground and drove all over the grass, ripping up a lot of the turf.

"As they left they drove through another part of the fence."

Mr McIntyre said the vandalism was a slap in the face for volunteers who worked tirelessly to maintain the once-immaculate turf, mowing the ground themselves.

"When I saw the damage my immediate thoughts were with all the volunteers that help to keep the ground in such great shape," he said. "We've had so much support from those volunteers and to see the damage done is very disappointing."

Early estimates put the damage bill at more than $2000, with the club having to dig into hard-earned fundraising dollars to foot the bill.

"We don't know exactly how much it will cost at this stage," Mr McIntyre said.

"They've done at least $2000 to $3000 worth of damage - maybe more.

"Along with ripping up the grass, they ripped up the artificial turf on the wicket as well, which adds to the cost and we'll probably have to replace that too."

The damage comes in the middle of the cricket season, forcing matches to be moved to other fields.

"It means the ground will be out of action for some time," Mr McIntyre said. "We'll get it back as soon as possible but in the meantime the matches will be shifted to other grounds. We're not sure where yet."

Anyone with information should contact Crime Stoppers on 1300 333 000.

Originally published as Hoon rampage rips up sport field