'Just pathetic': 4WD driver's outrage over 'dangerous' sabotage in forest
A furious Victorian man has vented his anger online after hidden spikes embedded on a forest dirt track burst two tyres on his 4WD.
Mason Friedl and his partner were enjoying a long weekend in Toolangi State Forest, 60km northeast of Melbourne, when their short break took a turn for the worse.
As he was driving along Breakoday dirt track deep in the forest, two of his ute’s tyres suffered punctures.
On closer inspection, he realised the damage was caused by metal spikes embedded into the track, and has accused environmentalists of sabotaging the track.
“We all know not everyone agrees with 4wding (sic) and off-road riding but to go this far out of your way to try stop us is just f****** pathetic and also extremely dangerous!” he wrote in a lengthy Facebook post on Saturday.
“Do you even stop to think how dangerous this would be if a motorbike rider/dog/child/native animal had have come in contact with these spikes?! he asked.
Mr Friedl believes the spikes, which were an hour’s drive into the bush, were deliberately placed on the track to target off-roaders.
He told Yahoo7 News the spikes appeared relatively new and had been covered in leaves to disguise them.
“They have obviously been put there recently because where they had been put in the ground. They didn’t even have any rust on them,” he said.
“They have obviously been hand ground to a really sharp point and two of them have plates wielded on them.”
He said he pulled out four spikes from the ground but believes there could be more planted along the track and warned other visitors to the forest to remain vigilant.
“Please be careful out there it’s a bloody shame we have to put up with b******* like this.”
He shared images of the spike on Facebook, prompting a wave of anger from other users.
Many noted that with recent bushfires across the state, the spikes could seriously hamper firefighters attempts to extinguish blazes.
“And in the midst of all the fires. What if the fire fighters were having to be in there! Could be catastrophic putting multiple lives in danger,” one person wrote.
“Whoever did this should be jailed,” another claimed.
Mr Friedl was forced to wait hours for a friend to bring out two tyres to him in the remote spot.
His post has since been shared over 6000 times.
He told Yahoo7 News he will take the spikes to local police on Monday.
Yahoo7 News has contacted Victoria Police for comment on the discovery.
Just last month, a dirt bike rider was lucky to escape unscathed after he discovered a wire stretched across a track in Queensland.
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