'Lapper' vandalism prompts vigilante warning

Bay of Plenty business owners say they are at boiling point after several hundred youths poured diesel on roads, vandalised property and caused mayhem over the long weekend.

The slippery roads caused a police patrol car to collide with a parked car, and streets were strewn with broken glass and rubbish.

Police have urged business owners not to take vigilante action but proprietors in Mirrielees and Cross roads near Sulphur Pt have had to put up with graffiti and skid-marks most weekends for the past six months.

The area is one of five main gathering points for groups in cars referred to as "lappers".

But last weekend was probably the worst yet, according to Ted and Linda Handley, who spent $500 on security cameras and have been staking out their Matamata Motor Trimmers premises in the hope of catching offenders in action.

The couple described Queens Birthday weekend as "almost like a riot" when they saw a police car lose control on diesel before youths pelted it with bottles.

Mr Handley said lappers had gathered on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights.

"They're like bees swarming around, you can hear this noise coming. First two of them come, then the others follow," Linda Handley told the Bay of Plenty Times.

"They are drinking, throwing bottles, kids are hanging off cars and utes are going round in circles with kids sitting in the back.

"It's not the boy racers who are causing the trouble, it's the spectators. We're fed up with cleaning the mess up, I think these kids need somewhere to go."

Windows in the Handleys' premises have been broken - one had a car battery thrown at it. The couple have not had them fixed, believing it will happen again.

A nearby business owner, who did not want to be named for fear she would be targeted, said people were so tired of the destructive behaviour they would soon intervene personally.

"What annoys me more than anything is the vandalism that goes with it," she said. "There's a lot of anger down here, if they push too far people are going to take the law into their own hands."

Mirrielees Rd is one of five areas popular among lappers. Others are at Maru St, Lambert Park, Truman Lane and Marine Parade stretching police resources.

Senior Sergeant Ian Campion of the Western Bay's police strategic traffic unit confirmed a patrol car had lost traction on diesel over the weekend and inquiries were continuing to find the person who poured it on the road.

- BAY OF PLENTY TIMES