No need to use all pics.By Monique Ebrington
NARRE Warren sports fans are hopping mad to again find smashed bottles in the grass at the Max Pawsey Reserve, where children regularly play sport.
Reserve committee secretary Greg Farley had to do a sweep of the grounds last Saturday before hundreds of children came to a Little Athletics sign-up day.
“I spent nearly an hour picking up around three slabs worth of broken glass and bottles on the oval itself where the kids were going to be running,” Mr Farley said.
While there is an immediate concern for those using the grounds, warmer months also mean an increase in activity at the reserve.
“There’s the junior football, cricket, Auskick, Little Athletics and the Southern Umpires that use these grounds,” he said.
“Of these groups there are over a thousand people that use it, some of them kids as young as five,” he said.
It is believed that space, a lack of lighting, and proximity to Fountain Gate Shopping Centre and subsequent liquor stores are all factors contributing to vandals using this reserve.
“Neighbours can hear the noise going on there and not wanting to tackle them with a gut full of grog they call the police,” he said.
Mr Farley said while regular security and police patrols monitor the grounds, the size of the reserve and numerous entrances often hampers arrests.
“It’s really hard to control in this particular area because there’s too much open space for them to get away,” he said.
“Unless you get them when they’re really rolling drunk, police would need five cars to try and catch them,” he said.
Broken glass and pieces of bottles left by vandals have the potential to harm players as well as the reputation of the Max Pawsey Reserve, he said.
“It’s really about the respect for the facilities; there’s boxes flying all over the place and the public aren’t to know it’s someone else that’s causing the mess,” he said.
Mr Farley said the reserve looks inadequate because of the mess and it’s not the user groups who are making the mess, it’s the kids drinking illegally.
He said police are aware of the vandalism and local residents would be quick to call the police if illegal activity continues at the reserve.
