Vandals destroy Bethany athletic fields

BETHANY, Conn. (WTNH) -- Vandals drove a vehicle onto several athletic fields and caused thousands of dollars worth of damage, police said.

Vandals deliberately performed donuts and tore up three rain soaked fields at Bethany Airport Recreation Facility.

"I just don't understand it. What do you get out of it?" Rich Greywacz of Bethany asked.

Greywacz is not the only resident who's unhappy about the vandalism.

"It really upsets residents, especially practicing golfers who won't even tee up on the fields for fear of causing divots," said Janice Howard, Director of Bethany Parks & Rec.

The fields are not just used for fun by local residents. Several sports teams from the idea need the field to host their games.

This main field is used daily for practices and games by Amity Youth Football and Lacrosse as well as Pop Warner football. Now efforts are being made to shuffle them elsewhere.

The damage is fairly extensive, as the tire tracks dug up the field. It's easy to see why it's not safe for the kids to play on it.

"Well, you are going to have to dig up or pick up the clumps of sod that are there and bring in new loom and re-seed it," explained the Director of Bethany Public Works.

It also turns out insurance won't cover the repair costs, which are estimated at over $5,000

Another town has been through this. Back in July, vandals damaged Ansonia's football field, but residents businesses came together raising funds to fix it.

In Bethany, they're still in the shocked phase.