A cricket club president has been left with a bruised face after confronting dirt bike riders tearing up the Kalkallo Recreation Reserve surface.
Donnybrook Cricket Club president Noel Seipolt confronted the riders on Sunday 23 November in a bid to stop them from riding on the reserve’s cricket pitch.
He said that during the confrontation, he was punched in the jaw.
“It was awful, I wasn’t expecting it,” Mr Seipolt said.
Mr Seipolt said he caught the young group of riders before they could tear up the turf.
Mr Seipolt said he called triple-0, but police didn’t arrive until more than an hour later.
“They were sorry they took so long… but weren’t really interested… they said there was nothing they could do,” he said.
“I went down a day or two later to the police station just to get a report number, they didn’t even have that.”
Victoria Police was contacted for comment. A spokesperson said police responded to reports of the alleged assault.
“It was reported that two unknown male teens were riding dirt bikes on the cricket pitch … at about 2.30pm,” the spokesperson said.
“The teens were approached by a man, and there was an altercation involving the man pushing one of the teens off the dirt bike, and one of the teens punching the man in the face.”
The spokesperson said the teens fled on their dirt bikes before police were called.
“No one has been arrested, and the investigation remains ongoing,” the spokesperson said.
Mr Seipolt said dirt bike riders tearing up the pitch is a ongoing problem at the reserve.
He said police returned to the reserve Wednesday 26 November when a girls’ team was playing.
“[They] were chasing the motorbikes, but they couldn’t catch them,” he said.
Mr Seipolt said a week after the alleged assault, one side of his face is still black and he is triggered every time he hears a motorcycle coming down the street.
“Why have they got to try and ruin lives?”
Mr Seipolt has been club president for 50 years and said it is devastating to see his hard work destroyed.
“The first time they trashed the pitch, I got down there and nearly cried … it happened on my birthday too.”
Mr Seipolt said dirt bike riders tore up the pitch at the start of the cricket season, and no matches could be played for weeks because of the damage.
“It affects players, it’s a community thing … these kids don’t care whether the people can’t play on a Saturday,” he said.
“I don’t know how you stop it … they just keep getting away with it.”
