Waikato residents are demanding action to fix a boy racer problem causing mayhem in the region.
Waipā District Councillor Susan O'Regan told Newshub large groups of up to 300 people in as many as 100 cars are descending on rural roads and destroying public property.
"These groups are becoming increasingly aggressive, they are abusive, they're often drunk," O'Regan said.
"They have been known to go into farmers' fields and do skids around those paddocks.
"They have actually moved from being somewhat opportunistic in their approaches to things to actively taking chainsaws and petrol with them."
She said they have chopped down street signs and road barriers, and Fire and Emergency has been called out several times to destruction caused by these groups.
She said there aren't enough police resources to help stop the problem.
"They're hand-tied, resources are the problem," O'Regan said.
"We don't need just a one-off kind of knee-jerk [response]… We want an enduring fix to a problem because you can move them on but the moment you remove that police presence from a distinct you can bet your bottom dollar they'll be back."
O'Regan said her plan is to band residents together by sending a joint letter of their concerns and experiences to the Government in hopes to receive funding to address the problem.
