- Vehicles crashed through posts to enter the field
- A dozen matches had to be cancelled
- The police are investigating vandalism
Sports clubs east of Brisbane fear they are being targeted by hoons after a second field was destroyed within months on Sunday.
After the Muddies Rugby Union ground was torn up by a driver during a blackout in January, the neighboring cricket club was targeted this weekend.
The incident took place on Saturday evening at the Muddies Cricket Club in Birkdale, located in the Redlands Council region south-east of Brisbane.
Up to seven vehicles forced their way through wooden bollards to access the field, causing burnouts and donuts to make the field unplayable.
About a dozen matches had to be canceled due to the deliberate vandalism that left the community and the volunteer-run club scrambling for answers.
Aerial footage shows the extent of damage to the Muddies Cricket Club ground at Birkdale in the Redlands region south-east of Brisbane
Muddies Cricket Club chairman Malcolm Luck said the damage was ‘soul-destroying’
The offenders had to fight their way through wooden posts to gain access to the field
“It’s just ridiculous,” Muddies Cricket Club chairman Malcolm Luck told Channel 7.
“It’s soul-destroying and it’s just a terrible situation. We cannot estimate this.’
Mark King, co-chairman of Redlands Rugby Union Club, said the offenders had to literally fight their way onto the pitch to carry out the vandalism.
‘What are you doing? You can only protect it so much,” he said.
The club has issued a public appeal for witnesses and is urging anyone with information to contact Queensland Police.
“Some video footage is yet to come in, and we all know that Redlands Rugby Union Club Official committed a similar attack with a 4WD last year, and the perpetrator was found,” the club posted on Facebook.
“So in a similar way, we are making an appeal before things move forward.
“Redland City Council deployed their crews this morning to get a team on the scene quickly, and local police have been informed. Any cameras in the vicinity of the fields are checked.’
The cricket club has issued a public appeal to try to identify the hoons responsible for the vandalism
The club has also been targeted by local teenagers who raced around the pitches on push bikes, including a synthetic surface that was destroyed before juniors even had a chance to play on it.
“Police are investigating following a malicious damage incident in Birkdale on Saturday, June 8,” a Queensland Police spokeswoman said.
Initial investigations indicate that several vehicles drove dangerously near the Judy Holt Sportsfield at around 8pm, causing damage to the grass, before leaving the scene.
‘No one was physically injured.
‘Witnesses, or anyone with information or a relevant view, are urged to contact police. The investigation continues.”
A driver was caught on CCTV vandalizing the adjacent rugby field with a black ute in January this year
Mark King, co-chairman of Redlands Rugby Union Club, is confused as to why the sports fields are being targeted by hoons
The incident comes just months after hoons tore up the adjacent Redlands Rugby Union Club field, causing up to $2,500 in damage.
CCTV footage showed a black ute carrying out two burnouts on the rain-soaked field before fleeing the scene.
“Literally 25 seconds was all it took,” King said at the time.
‘Unfortunately the fields were very soft because of all that rain. So when he finishes his burnout, he will have fallen about six inches into the ground.”
The field had to be completely rebuilt, at the expense of local taxpayers.
“This is just a guy who clearly made a stupid decision at the wrong time,” club co-chairman Keith Taylor said.