Third man pleads guilty to attack on tourists at Ahipara

A third man has pleaded guilty to viciously assaulting two overseas tourists who were sleeping in a campervan at Ahipara foreshore.

Ian Spicer, 27, entered guilty pleas in the High Court at Whangarei yesterday to two charges of aggravated robbery and one of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

Spicer, Harley Williams and Mark Nathan went to the Ahipara foreshore car park about 4am on March 25 last year and began violently rocking the campervan to the point of tipping it over.

An Argentinian man and a female Polish tourist were sleeping in the campervan at the time.

The 29-year-old Argentinian tourist yelled out before getting out of the campervan. He was attacked and repeatedly punched and kicked while he lay on the ground, suffering a fractured rib and injuries to his back, torso and chin.

The female tourist also came out and was punched in the face twice, causing her to fall and bleed from the nose.

She suffered a black eye and severe bruising to her face.

Williams grabbed a plastic bag that contained groceries from the campervan before all three men drove away.

The woman ran to a nearby house and raised the alarm.

Spicer was convicted by Justice Kit Toogood and remanded in custody for sentencing on August 10.