Police investigate tyre spikes on national park trail

Brisbane Water Police are investigating what are thought to be tyre spikes aimed at mountain bikes in Bouddi National Park.

A piece of wood holding a row of upright nails was found hidden beneath leaves on a trail in the park, after the tyres of two riders were punctured.

Mr Scott Uzelac of Kincumber was riding on the cliff track with two friends on Saturday.

"It was around 2pm on Saturday and two friends and I decided to ride an easier trail while waiting for another friend," he said.

"We were half way into the trail when one of my friends got a flat tyre.

"We didn't think much of it at first, and I headed back to the car to get some parts to help repair his tyre.

"And as I was riding, I got a flat as well.

"We thought there might be a hidden tree root or something, so I started kicking the leaves around to see what it was and my shoe hit what ended up being a nail.

"So I got down on my knees and found a whole row of nails sticking up out of the ground, attached to a piece of wood.

"It was a pretty scary find.

"I assume it was put there to stop mountain bikes.

"If a runner had trodden on that it would have gone through their foot," he said.

Mr Uzelac took photos of the trap before pulling it out of the ground and reporting it to Terrigal police. station and now they are looking into it," he said.

"All I got was a flat tyre, but I would have been really angry if anyone had been hurt."

Shadow Minister for the Central Coast Mr David Harris has called for a Mountain Bike Plan of Management.

He said the incident had highlighted growing tensions between various groups in the region.

"I have been working with mountain bike groups for some time on developing a comprehensive Mountain Bike Plan of Management to capture the great opportunities this sport presents both economically and health wise," he said.

"The Coast must have a strategy that designates and highlights trails and tracks, allocates funding for infrastructure and identifies ways to attract riders to our area."

SOURCE

Media release, 6 Aug 2020

David Harris, Shadow Minister for Central Coast

Interview (Terry Collins), 6 Aug 2020

Mr Scott Uzelac, Kincumber