The community of Pleasant Point near Timaru has been left angry after some "idiots" tore up the community's sportsground.
Groundsman Chris Murphy says several fields have been destroyed.
"It's the worst I've seen it and we've had idiots on the golf course do this type of thing [before]," he says.
"We've just done our renovations, we had [the sports fields] looking really good that's been wasted now, unfortunately."
Local sports games were scheduled to be held at the ground this weekend but now the council will decide what games go ahead and where.
"The amount of damage is absolutely horrendous," Pleasant Point Football Club vice president Philip Moran says.
"We've got diverts of 100mm plus which [if] you kick a ball into it's just going to get hidden and stop play pretty immediately.
"From a players' perspective, running over that can cause all sorts of injuries, the extent of the damage is quite large."
Police constable Kris Howes says they received reports of a vehicle on the sportsground at 3am on Monday morning.
"It's very disappointing that someone has come on here and done this sort of selfish act," he says.
However police have found a flare guard from a vehicle left on the ground and believe it belongs to a green Nissan Terrano. They urge anyone with information to come forward.
Newshub.
