Hoons on quad bikes rip up Greenacre’s Gosling Park for the second time in two months

Quad bike riders have ripped up a Western Sydney oval for the second time in two months, forcing the cancellation of kids’ soccer matches and sparking a police investigation.

Hoons on quad bikes have ripped up a western suburbs oval for the second time in two months and forced the cancellation of kids soccer matches.

East Bankstown Football Club had been preparing for only their second home games at Gosling Park in Greenacre this season after months of rain but had to cancel the weekend matches.

Police are investigating after the club and council called for a crackdown on vandalism.

In a statement from the council, Canterbury-Bankstown Council Mayor Khal Asfour said he was furious at the vandalism.

“These people think they are above the law and need to have their bikes confiscated and slapped with a hefty fine,” Mr Asfour said.

Quad bikers at Gosling Park in Greenacre on May 14.

“If they have a need to own a quad bike, they should ride them on their farms and not ride them through our neighbourhoods and rip up our parks.

“It is a blatant disregard for the law and public property. Their selfish act puts pressure on the council and the club to find alternative arrangements for the thousands of players, not to mention the huge cost of repairing the ground,” said the mayor.

Images from most recently discovered tracks believed to be from quad bikes marked on fields at Gosling Park in Greenacre, second incident.

Tracks believed to be from quad bikes marked on fields at Gosling Park in Greenacre.

The council believes the tracks found on Sunday morning on the Gosling Park field in Greenacre were from a group of quad bikers who were spotted around the time of a similar incident two weeks prior on Saturday, May 14.

“I want to see a dedicated police team set up and a proactive approach taken to stop these cowards,” Mayor Asfour said.

A local community member was first to discover the tracks and reported the damage to the East Bankstown Football club on Sunday morning.

It is believed the council implemented bollards and log barriers following the first quad bike incident at the field, however those bollards have since been removed.

The soccer club and council have called for a crackdown on vandalism.

The council also believes these quad bikes were unregistered and is concerned that the riders photographed on the quad bikes were not wearing helmets.

The NSW Government website states that: “Quad bikes and ATVs need to be conditionally registered to be used on public roads and road-related areas.”

A representative from East Bankstown Football Club told The Daily Telegraph this is not the first time an incident of this nature has occurred in the area.

“I’ll point out that this has been happening to local parks for quite some time. The Crest has had numerous incidents of bikes even when players have been there, police just seem unable to do anything about it.

“I assume it’s happening to other codes also. We have been working very hard to get these parks going so our kids can play,” the spokesperson said.

The football club is urging members of the local community to report any sightings of similar damage to sporting facilities.