A Northland sports club fed up with having to pick broken glass out of its playing fields is appealing for respect for its facilities — and warning would-be vandals they will be caught thanks to an excellent CCTV system.
The Kerikeri Football Club, based at the BaySport grounds in Waipapa, has been hit by vandals at least four times in recent months.
In the latest incident, about 2pm last Sunday, someone smashed beer bottles on the pitch, spraying shards of glass where hundreds of keen footballers play twilight football once a week.
The incident forced club volunteers to spend hours painstakingly picking broken glass out of the grass and to ban slides down the side of the pitch in case any pieces had been overlooked.
Senior co-ordinator Mark Roberts said he also walked the pitch in bare feet to make one final check.