More crime in the city ... or not

From today's Press

'Lawless' boy racers shut down main road

Thousands of boy racers turned central Christchurch into the latest battlefield in the war against car hoons on the weekend.

Christchurch's Little Hagley and North Hagley Parks were yesterday littered with smashed glass and hundreds of discarded bottles after Harper Avenue was grid-locked by thousands of boy racers.

They were drawn to the city for the annual Fours and Rotary Autoshow at Westpac Stadium.

Boy-racer bans on the Oxford Terrace Strip and several streets on the city outskirts where they had previously gathered did nothing to stop the problem re-emerging on Harper Avenue.

Police said the scene was "lawless" with officers being attacked with thrown bottles and diesel poured on the road.

Hundreds of youths drinking along the park's main thoroughfare honked, yelled, performed burnouts and revved engines well into Sunday morning, making sleep impossible for residents and guests at nearby hotels.

Harper Avenue was closed for two hours while the crowd was dispersed and the road was cleaned of diesel.

There were no arrests but police said they had identified offenders and would be calling on them throughout the week.



American tourist Robert Moulton said he would be telling people back home in Portland, Maine, to "stay out of there (Christchurch)" after he had to change rooms in the middle of the night to sleep.

Moulton said he and his wife loved Hagley Park but while walking back to his hotel a group of boy-racer cars roared past, scaring them.

"They hung out the window and yelled profanities at us. I will not stay here again," Moulton said. "You're going to lose tourist dollars. Hooligans are running the city."

No reports about how many were dressed as Santa Claus.