
Young man charged after Auckland rugby fields torn up by vehicle
A teenager is facing several driving offences, including intentional damage, after he allegedly tore up a rugby club's fields in Auckland's northwest over the weekend.
The 19-year-old also had his newly-purchased vehicle impounded.
Kumeū Rugby Club president Glenn Wheeler said in a statement to Facebook on Saturday morning that "some degenerates" had caused major damage to parts of the club's two fields.
"It's heartbreaking for our Kumeū Rugby Club & the community to have this kind of stuff going on."
Drone footage provided to 1News shows the extent of the damage, with tyre tracks spanning two fields.
ADVERTISEMENT
Police received reports of the damage on Saturday morning. (Source: Supplied)
Sergeant Graham Bennett said police received reports of the rugby fields being damaged on Saturday morning.
"A furore ensued on the community grapevines given a prized community asset had been damaged. Information was quickly passed onto police which was followed up and a vehicle of interest was identified."
Bennett thanked those at the rugby club and members of the public for their assistance which led to the arrest.
Wheeler told 1News that Auckland Council were aiming "do everything in their power" to have the field up and running by Saturday for Club Day.
"It's mostly superficial damage, but some of the bigger holes will need sand to fill them up."
He also thanked everyone who helped to contribute to finding the offender.
"Unfortunately the satisfaction of finding the perpetrator doesn't take away the extreme disappointment of having our fields wrecked."
The 19-year-old was expected to appear in Waitākere District Court at a later date on an intentional damage charge alongside other driving offences.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Otago Daily Times
2 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
Elderly Christchurch woman caught in puppy scam
Senior Constable Paul Hampton, pictured here at the front desk, gave Maggie his card which meant the store manager was able to call him when they suspected Maggie was being scammed again. Photo: Police A Christchurch 78-year-old's search for a canine companion took a disappointing turn when she fell victim to an online scam, but her loss could have been much worse if not for an empathetic shop owner. Maggie lives alone and has a hearing disability. She wanted to buy a puppy to keep her company and, like many others, began her search on Facebook Marketplace. She found a Facebook Group advertising puppies for sale and struck up a conversation online. Maggie then made two bank payments as requested to secure a puppy. The seller made another request for money, so Maggie popped into her local police station for some advice and spoke to Senior Constable Paul Hampton. 'Unfortunately, falsely advertising puppies for sale is a very common scam,' says Hampton. 'I advised that she had been scammed and took a complaint recording the circumstances. I gave her my business card when she left.' Maggie subsequently found another Facebook group selling puppies. This time she was asked to make payment by purchasing Apple iTunes cards and supplying the hidden numbers. She did as she was asked and purchased the iTunes cards from a service station. She was then told that she needed to get more iTunes cards from another store. This time, Maggie chose a store in Hornby Mall, which turned out to be a great choice due to its observant and sympathetic manager. 'Making payment with iTunes cards is another common scam,' says Hampton. 'But lucky for Maggie, the person she encountered at the store knew that. 'A big shout out to Simon Grant, manager of the store in Hornby Mall, who realised Maggie didn't know what iTunes cards were used for and was probably being scammed. 'When talking with Maggie, who has a hearing disability, he found my business card and gave me a call.' Paul headed straight to the mall. Simon happily refunded a previous mistaken gift card purchase and Paul accompanied Maggie to her bank who put in place security measures for future transactions. 'It's really great to see retailers looking out for their customers and protecting them against this kind of fraudulent activity," says Paul. "Maggie did lose some money, but it could have been a whole lot worse if Simon hadn't acted on his suspicions.' Police recommend the following safety tips if you're considering buying a puppy online: Always buy from a reputable breeder or authentic seller if you can. Ask to see the puppy first and meet in a public place if you are unable to go to their property. Make sure a friend or family member is aware of the transaction details before you go. Try to avoid making a transaction before meeting someone first and never deposit money into a person's account without viewing the puppy first Trust your instincts, if it sounds like a scam, and it's too good to be true it probably is. Remember, if something illegal is happening now, call 111. If it's already happened, you can provide information via the Police non-emergency number 105. -Ten One Magazine

1News
3 hours ago
- 1News
'Is that how you poisoned my parents?' — Patterson confronted by ex
Erin Patterson has told a Victorian court that her estranged husband once directly asked if she poisoned his parents, a moment she says sent her into a spiral of fear and doubt. The 50-year-old is on trial for the alleged murder of three family members and the attempted murder of a fourth, accused of serving a beef wellington laced with death cap mushrooms in July last year. Taking the stand for a third day in her own defence, Patterson shared details of a private conversation with Simon, whose parents Don and Gail were among the victims of the fatal lunch. "He said to me, 'Is that how you poisoned my parents, using that dehydrator'?" "I said of course not." ADVERTISEMENT Simon has denied making the accusation, but Patterson told the court the moment shook her and led her to reflect more deeply on what had happened. The 50-year-old accused says she misled family about medical tests and she served the fateful meal on mismatched plates. (Source: 1News) 'I was scared': Patterson feared she'd be blamed Patterson said the conversation triggered mounting anxiety about the meal and the ingredients used. "It caused me to do a lot of thinking about a lot of things," she said. "I was starting to think: 'what if they'd gone in the container with the Chinese mushrooms'?" Fearing she'd be blamed and knowing child protection services were coming to visit, she admitted she disposed of the food dehydrator at the Koonwarra tip. Emotional testimony about family breakdown ADVERTISEMENT In her testimony, Patterson also reflected on her rocky marriage with Simon, saying their ability to communicate had collapsed in recent years. "We just couldn't communicate well when we disagreed… we could never make each of us feel heard and understood." She described a growing distance from Simon's family, claiming her husband no longer wanted her involved in family matters. Earlier in the week, Patterson described the traumatic birth of her first child and the support she received from her now-deceased mother-in-law, Gail Patterson. "I had no idea what to do with a baby… Gail was really supportive and gentle and patient with me." She also recalled converting to Christianity after attending a church service led by Pastor Ian Wilkinson, the sole survivor of the fatal lunch. Patterson admits leaving out key details to health officials ADVERTISEMENT Death cap mushrooms (file image). (Source: The court also heard that Patterson left out certain information during early communication with health authorities, including her doubts about the supermarket-sourced ingredients. At the time, Victorian health official Sally Ann Atkinson was tasked with asking Patterson about the potential food poisoning outbreak and the origins of the ingredients from the fatal meal. She said she was overwhelmed and scared at the time and didn't know what to believe. "Very anxious, yeah. Very anxious," she told the court. When pressed she said she "thought it was a possibility" the mushrooms sourced from the Asian grocer were responsible for the poisoning. 'I panicked': Patterson explains wiping phone data ADVERTISEMENT The jury was also shown evidence that one of Patterson's phones was reset multiple times – something she admitted doing herself on three occasions – while saying her son had performed the first. She told the court the phone originally belonged to her but was handed over to her son after he damaged his own device earlier in the year. After retrieving it in August, Patterson said she cleaned the phone and eventually set it up again for her personal use. Patterson said the third reset, on August 5, was a direct result of panic. She told the jury she had reloaded her apps and logged into her Google account, which included photos of mushrooms and her food dehydrator. Winter's here, supermarket spying, and TikTok's new feature. (Source: 1News) "I just panicked and didn't want [the detectives] to see them," she said. The following day, Patterson said she remotely triggered another factory reset after police had searched her home. "After the search of my house and the interview and the detectives had brought me home, I remember thinking 'I wonder if I can log into my Google account and see where all my devices are'. So I did that, and I could see my phone, and [my children's devices], and it was really stupid, but I thought, 'I wonder if they've been silly enough to leave it connected to the internet', so I hit factory reset to see what happened and it did."

1News
9 hours ago
- 1News
Historic ship The Tui 'significantly damaged' by fire in Paihia
Firefighters have brought a blaze upon a historic ship in Paihia under control. Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) crews responded to a fire which began on the ship The Tui, which had been converted into a building on land next to the Waitangi Bridge around 4am. Fire crews responded to the fire on The Tui around 4am. (Source: Supplied) The timber ship was "fully on fire" and "already significantly damaged", a FENZ spokesperson said of when crews arrived. In an update shortly before 8am, community risk manager Mitchell Brown said "sadly, the structure is about 90% destroyed, which is a significant loss of history to the community". ADVERTISEMENT Winter's here, supermarket spying, and TikTok's new feature. (Source: 1News) "There are currently six fire crews from Paihia, Kerikeri, Kawakawa and Whangārei at the location, as well as a fire investigator." Brown said there were no people on board overnight. (Source: Derek Gerritsen) "We're also working with local marae committee to ensure safety of nearby residents," Brown said. Footage sent to 1News at 6.30am showed the grounded boat engulfed in flames as firefighters worked around the vessel.