‘WE WANTED TO SEE HOBBITS’
Brit family who terrorised New Zealand locals and trashed beach are furious they’re being deported
The tourists then threatened to 'knock the brains out' of locals who challenged their behaviour
AN unruly family of Brit tourists who trashed a beach and terrorised New Zealand locals have claimed they are the real victims.
The group have been accused of dumping rubbish and wreaking havoc - but they say they were intimidated by locals who “encircled” them.
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Footage shows unruly British tourists swearing at the media and locals outside court in Hamilton, Hamilton
Following a public outcry, John Johnson is now set to be deported from the country along with his brother David and several other relatives, who are understood to be from Liverpool.
But he has insisted they were not to blame and claimed they come from a good family with his grandfather apparently the "10th richest man in England".
They have now vented their fury that their holiday was cut short by a week over the uproar.
He said: "We're here to see the Hobbits ... I've been looking at the Hobbits my whole life, since I'm born, that was originally what our plans was but it's all been f***** up now ... I feel very unwelcome here.
Johnson claimed it all kicked off when his eight-year-old nephew was "slapped" by another boy at Takapuna Beach on Auckland’s North Shore.
He claims they were abused, branded "Irish scum" and had items thrown at them.
After feeling intimidated, Johnson claims they fled and left rubbish behind.
The Johnson brothers say they were on family day out with their partners and children, including a young baby, as well as their mum Eileen Doran and dad.
'WE WERE INTIMIDATED'
One of the family's children was filmed threatening to “knock the brains out” of locals who challenged their behaviour during a week-long trail of chaos.
Footage also shows a young boy from the group of Brit tourists pulling the finger and yelling at locals outside court in Hamilton today.
The family sprinted off following the court appearance of a 26-year-old relative.
It came after around 12 people from one family caused carnage and left piles of rubbish on Takapuna Beach on Sunday.
Disgruntled beachgoers challenged the family and asked them to pick up their rubbish, but the tourists allegedly turned violent and threatened to punch locals in the face, reported news.com.au.
Local reports described them as Irish travellers, but the family said they were British citizens and "not gypsies".
The same family were accused of leaving restaurants without paying, creating havoc in a drive-thru Burger King, and causing a stink on "the worst flight ever".
Mayor of Auckland Phil Goff didn’t hold back in sharing his thoughts, blasting the visitors as "worse than pigs".
NZ Herald reports he told a radio station: “What a bunch of a**holes, these guys are trash.
“You know, I’m married to a Moriarty, so I’ve got a particular liking for the Irish, but I don’t have a liking for these sort of people that come here.
“We know who those people are now, I’ve asked council to follow up, because I want to see them loaded with an infringement fine for trashing our country.”
The mayor also added: “They shouldn’t even be here, actually the police if they’ve got the opportunity should have them for fraud.”
John Johnson, who is among the Brit tourist group, told The Herald he no longer felt comfortable in New Zealand as a petition was started to have them deported.
"I feel like an alien invader, I don't feel happy and I'm far from Irish."
'I'LL KNOCK YOUR BRAINS OUT'
Krista Curnow told The Herald the family surrounded her and shouted abuse after she confronted them at the beach.
Footage of the incident shows a young boy shouting, “I’ll knock your brains out.”
She said: “The young boy in the video came up to our group and emptied his bag of chips on our blanket, before laughing and ran away.
“Later on, the family packed up and left all their rubbish on the reserve. We were thinking, ‘Are you serious?’
“We asked them if they were going to pick up their rubbish and they said they weren’t coming back. So I followed them and I said, ‘Hey don’t come to our country and disrespect it like that.’
“Their response was basically if we have a problem then we can pick it up and that that’s what the council is for.
“That’s when they started getting quite violent. About four or five ladies stood around me in a half circle. They were saying they were going to hit me and I started walking backwards to get out of it.
“They turned violent and even grandma and the child got involved saying they wanted to punch my head in.”
She added that as the tourists were leaving the beach, Curnow tried to take a picture of their car’s number plate, sparking the driver into a rage where he attempted to run her over and steal her phone.
She explained: “He drove up onto the kerb towards me and he jumped out of the car and tried to take my phone. A bystander jumped in and told him to calm down.
“They drove off with their boots up, trying to hide their number plates.”
The aftermath shows boxes of beer bottles dumped on the ground along with bits of plastic, rubbish and clothes.
Immigration officers were on hand on Tuesday when police were called following a row said to involve the group in a branch of Burger King, Stuff reported.
A manager at the fast food restaurant said: "They were walking through the drive through.
"They were just here causing problems for other customers."
The restaurant boss said the group were being "a bit intimidating".
PETITION TO DEPORT
Later that night, the British family allegedly showed up to Nandos in Albany and demanded a refund after ordering meals.
They are said to have also demanded free food at a number of other restaurants in the North Shore district.
The tourists’ behaviour has become so well-known among locals that a petition was started demanding “Deport the unruly tourists” after the week-long trail of carnage they have caused.
The petition reads: “These tourists have come to our country, scammed our local businesses and littered along our beaches.
“Get rid of them now to teach a lesson to future tourists that we do not accept such behaviour in our Homeland.”
So far, the petition has received over 2,500 signatures of the 5,000 goal.
MOST READ IN NEWS
This group’s alleged behaviour is similar to the behaviour of a group of British tourists in Queensland, Australia, last year.
That group in Australia was accused of scamming restaurants. They were linked to 12 incidents across Brisbane and the Gold Coast.
Mr Johnson denied they were the same family who caused trouble in Australia and said he'd never been there.
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