Taggers and vandals - and now squatters

Kaitaia's Pirates Rugby Football Club has had some ups and downs over the last 60 years and more, but the good times seem a long time ago as the club battles an on-going spate of vandalism.

The club, which was re-launched two years ago after an eight-year hiatus, has had windows smashed, outside walls covered in graffiti and doors broken. And more recently a couple of squatters moved in, using rugby post pads to fashion one of two beds, helping themselves to food that was to have been served to the club's young members, vomiting and defecating on the floor and leaving drug paraphernalia behind.

Police say they have identified one of the culprits, and are actively looking for him.

"It's really disappointing," committee member Gloria Larkins said.

"They'd cooked the kids' baked beans and tipped porridge all over the floor. Just made a hell of a mess. We have limited funds as it is, so to have this keep happening, the repair bills are going to send us under."

The club was run entirely by volunteers, and relied on fundraising via raffles and the generosity of parents.

"We're just trying to keep it going, it's for the kids eh," committee chairman Chris Silich said. The club had a membership of about 60 children, with teams in the under-7 to under-16 age groups.

The attacks on the Pirates' clubrooms were apparently nothing personal, however, Mr Silich said windows had been smashed at the nearby Kaitaia Rugby Club premises, and the Kaitaia Gymnastic Club, just across the river, had had problems lately too.

The Pirates under-16 players had a home game this weekend, however, and "this isn't the look we're after," Mr Silich said.

He was surprised to learn that the liquor ban basically applied only to the town's main street, and not further afield.

"That's hard case," he said.

"That's just pushing the kids from the main street to the back area. I thought it was all public places. It should be."

Meanwhile the club was grateful for the help it had received so far, including paint that was donated to cover graffiti on the building's outside back wall and replacement windows, donated by a former club member.

"We're just like any other club; we're all struggling," Mr Silich added.

"At the end of the day it's the kids who will miss out if this continues."