Freshwater Beach: Smashed glass vacuumed from parks after Saturday night revellers run amok

Dangerous fragments of shattered alcohol bottles had to be “vacuumed” from beachside parks after drunk outdoor partygoers went wild at the weekend.

A clean up team had to use a special vacuum cleaner truck to suck up dangerous sharp shards of glass from public parks after drunken revellers smashed bottles in and around a popular Sydney beach.

Northern Beaches Council also had to repair vandalised public toilets, including the amenities for disabled people, after a large crowd descended on the reserves behind Freshwater Beach on Saturday night.

Rubbish left behind by revellers on reserves near Freshwater Beach that was collected by residents early on Sunday morning. Picture: Elke Black

The council’s cleansing staff were still removing glass from the grassed area around Pilu restaurant — known to locals as “Freshie Hill” — on Monday morning.

Council CEO Ray Brownlee described the damage to the public changing rooms and toilets at the rear of the Freshwater Surf Life Saving Club as “mindless”.

He urged people to dob the culprits in to police.

“This mindless act of vandalism to community facilities is unacceptable and something we take very seriously,” Mr Brownlee said.

“We encourage the community to report instances of vandalism to Council on 1300 434 434 or to Police Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.”

Toilet cubicle doors from the public amenities block at the rear of Freshwater Surf Life Saving Club that were ripped off their hinges by vandals. Picture: Jim O'Rourke

The council said rangers would patrol the area this weekend.

Cleansing staff were called to the amenities block at the surf club at 11pm after being alerted to the vandalism incident by the council’s emergency response officers.

They discovered doors pulled off their hinges in the toilet block as well as smashed cisterns and sinks.

Shattered bottles were strewn across surrounding streets including Undercliff and Moore roads and across the grassed area near Pilu restaurant.

People gathering to socialise at about 6.45pm on Saturday at the reserve between Moore and Undercliff roads at Freshwater Beach. Picture: Jim O'Rourke

The operator of The Pocket cafe at the rear of the surf club, Martin Arrisueno, found broken glass scattered around the seating area.

The council teams made sure the amenities block was safe and securely locked, before returning to the site at 5am on Sunday to clean up the broken bottles before beachgoers arrived.

Glass shards had to be removed from the grass as well as from the road by a vacuum truck.

An official from the surf club spoke to police and provided a number of photographs of the damaged public amenities area.

People gathering to socialise at about 6.45pm on Saturday at the reserve behind Freshwater Surf Life Saving Club. Picture: Jim O'Rourke

The club declined an offer to comment as the matter was being investigated by police.

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