Io! Where's our fence? Te Awamutu rugby club left stumped by theft

More than 40m of fence rails have been stolen from the grounds of the Te Awamutu Marist Rugby Club overnight Sunday. Photo / Facebook

A small Waikato rugby club is railing against the thieves who stole all the wooden planks from its newly built fence.

Around 40m of timber railing was stolen from the Te Awamutu Marist Rugby Club's perimeter fence on Sunday night, leaving the fields lined only with bare fence posts.

"Thieves have stolen our fence!!" The club posted on social media.

"Thank you to the low Leif's that decided to steal all the wooden rails from our newly built fence."

Eight lengths of nailed timber railing were ripped from the posts at the Park Rd ground.

The fence had been up barely four months.

Those at the club and many in the community called the theft callous and despicable.

Club treasurer Catherine Smith said furious members had given up weekends and countless hours building the fence to protect the fields from hoons in cars doing Donuts.

"Obviously we're all volunteers and we've put in a lot of time and effort.

"Two to three generations of family were building the fence and it's disappointing for them to see it happen."

She asked those who ripped off the planks to do the right thing.

"Give us back our fence and get a decent job rather than taking from children and the community."

Since posting about the theft the club had received generous offers of support including one from a company outside the region that had offered to drive to Te Awamutu and replace the missing planks.

Another fencer said he would be more than happy to put it back on for nothing if the rails turned up.

The club thanked people for their support saying it was very sad the little grassroots club had been shafted by selfish people.

The club asked if anyone had information about people suddenly acquiring more than 40m of 150/50 timber rails overnight to contact the Te Awamutu Police.

Police said they were aware of the social media post but may not have received a complaint from the club yet.

A spokeswoman said they would be following up with the club today.