Fitness session ends in pain as bar slips off goalpost

Richard Rees needed stitches and a tetanus shot after the crossbar fell on his head. He said a child would have been killed. Photo / Brett Phibbs

A goalpost crossbar which the Auckland City Council believes was tampered with fell and injured a man's head during training at Victoria Park on Monday night.

Richard Rees, 34, was running laps in preparation for police college training when he stopped to lean against a goalpost to stretch his calf muscles.

"It's just a bizarre thing to happen," he said.

"I was just leaning into one putting my weight on it to stretch, not excessively, and the crossbar obviously not being secure, I must have pushed it out of its wedge."

The steel post smashed onto Mr Rees' head near his crown.

"There was just blood everywhere. I'm thinking if it had hit me on my neck as I was leaning forward and looking down I don't know what could have happened. It could have easily killed a kid."

Although Mr Rees escaped serious injury - he needed stitches and a tetanus shot - he wanted the council to step up its monitoring of the sports field.

Council spokesman Mark Bowater said goal posts on four rugby league fields are put up for winter sports in late March and are removed in September.

Council officers inspect the condition of the goalposts regularly during the season to make sure that the crossbars are securely bolted onto the uprights.

"The goalpost crossbar that had fallen had been unscrewed and left in a hazardous condition, which suggests that it had been tampered with by those with nothing better to do," Mr Bowater said.

The council removed posts from two of the fields yesterday, while the remaining posts were checked and left for end of season games.

- STAFF REPORTER