Club fed up with vandals

BY LUKE PARKER

He’s had a gutsful.

Waitemata Seagulls Rugby League Football Club chairman Tipa Kini is sick of the constant break-ins, smashed windows and graffiti at the Ranui facility.

Things have got worse over the last four years and the situation is now a major concern.

"This year we had a spate of around eight break-ins within a six-week period earlier in the season," Mr Kini says.

"They were mainly targeting alcohol. After that we got a bit frustrated and started to put more security measures in place."

Security grills on the doors and bars on the windows have stopped the burglaries but tagging and window breaking continues.

"A big pane of glass was smashed and a window near the front door was broken in the last couple of weeks," Mr Kini says.

"It’s cost quite a bit to install the security bars and door grills. They took a big chunk out of our budget. Money spent on this takes away from our youth. We need the money for things like prizegivings.

"We’re just trying to offer our players a bit more, but unfortunately we’re not able to do this at the moment."

The club has sent out flyers asking the community to be vigilant and police are patrolling the area during the evenings.

"We want people to keep an eye out and to call police if they see things happening," Mr Kini says.

The Glendene resident says insurance payouts are becoming harder to get because of the frequency of incidents.

"To try and get it insured again is getting harder and harder with the premiums," he says.

Meanwhile the problem continues.

"It’s very frustrating," Mr Kini says.

- © Fairfax NZ News