• Boy racers and hundreds of their supporters caused mayhem in Levin overnight, with video footage posted online showing dangerous driving, fireworks and crowds blocking the streets.
• The footage also showed police responding in full riot gear to the car meet planned to mark the anniversary of a similarly disruptive event.
• Horowhenua Mayor Bernie Wanden said behaviour at the “unlawful gathering ... has no place in our communities”.

Boy racers and their supporters in the hundreds have caused chaos in Levin overnight, with dangerous burnouts and skids occurring amid crowds of young people, and police responding in full riot gear.

A video posted to TikTok showed multiple cars doing burnouts, tyres squealing amid fireworks and large crowds, most waving their arms and whooping in delight – and some getting close to spinning vehicles.

“Oh my God, this is scary stuff,” said one woman.

“It’s f***** hectic, eh” said the man filming, adding at one point “the police are coming”.

Flashing red and blue lights could be seen in the video, and others later posted online that there had been “major police action” in Oxford St, which is the State Highway 1 route through Levin.

“People with knives and hatchets, riot police out, police Eagle helicopter overhead. Police drones out too. AVOID LEVIN TOWN”, a person wrote in a post to Traffic Updates – Horowhenua Facebook page just before 11pm.

“Hundreds of vehicles invading the town, mainly Bath and Oxford streets, Levin New World area, a few arrests have been made.”

Police have been contacted for comment this morning.

A video posted on YouTube showed officers wearing full-length riot shields and walking in formation through the streets of central Levin.

A post on The Traffic Fox Facebook page described “hundreds of car enthusiasts, or ‘boy racers’/ little s***s converged on Levin and tried to close off the main highway doing burnouts and skids, police were prepared and stopped a lot of it”.

“Yet bottles were smashed, rubber was laid, a couple of people were arrested for carrying weapons, riot police were out in force, cars were rammed etc. Even the Police Eagle helicopter was brought down from Auckland!”

The boy racers dispersed about 11pm on to SH57 to head north and were “hanging out on the back roads out of Levin”, they wrote.

A person was taken to Palmerston North Hospital in a serious condition after an incident involving a vehicle on Wallace Rd, near Levin, at 11.50pm, a Hato Hone St John Ambulance spokeswoman said.

NZTA warned motorists at the time to expect delays because of an incident on SH57 Kōputaroa near the intersection of Wallace Rd, which is about 6km north of Levin.

Ambulance crews were also sent to an incident involving a vehicle further north on Tiakitahuna Rd (SH56) an hour later, but no patient was found at the scene, the Hato Hone St John spokeswoman said.

The Herald was not able to immediately confirm with emergency responders whether the incidents were related to the earlier disorder in Levin.

Community response

A late-night caller to Newstalk ZB said they could hear a helicopter “buzzing round”.

“I’m 2km away and [the] smell from boy racers’ cars is shocking. Some racing down other streets also.”

Another Levin caller, Bianca, described the behaviour as “disgusting”.

“People should feel safe in their own town. I don’t think [the boy racers] will care if someone is killed. I really don’t think they care.”

Horowhenua Mayor Bernie Wanden said he understood the “concern and disruption that last night’s unlawful gathering” caused residents.

“This behaviour has no place in our communities.”

He acknowledged the “significant planning and swift response” of police and other emergency services “to keep our people and our roads safe”.

“Their work helped prevent a repeat of last year’s dangerous and unacceptable events.

“We stand with our community in calling for respectful behaviour and will continue to work alongside police to support efforts that deter and address this kind of activity.”

Horowhenua Mayor Bernie Wanden says he hopes police will respond strongly to a planned boy racer meet in Levin this weekend.

Boy racers and anti-social car meet-ups “aren’t wanted in our town or in our region”, with people seriously injured by their “idiotic behaviour” at previous events, Ōtaki MP Tim Costley said.

Young people were wanted in Horowhenua and Kāpiti, but in productive jobs that add to the community rather than taking part in dangerous anti-social behaviour, Costley said.

“These people aren’t good drivers, they’re not good enough to pull off the dangerous stunts they attempt, skidding cars next to bystanders.

“They disrupt our peace, they vandalise our town, and they don’t belong here.”

He praised police for bringing the disorder to a quick end through a “well-planned and prepared police operation”.

‘Block the pigs’

The self-proclaimed car enthusiasts’ pre-planned event comes a year after another meet in Levin where a crowd of more than 200 people turned violent, hurling projectiles at police, injuring two officers.

Wanden said yesterday he’d spoken to police, who were preparing to respond to any disorder.

“[The boy racers] think they’ve got the right to do this, it’s just astonishing. They’re just winding the community up – and we’ve had a gutsful.”

He understood the meet was being organised “in memory” of last year’s, “which is sad to see”.

Wanden’s hope for a strong police response was at odds with the attitude of the organiser of last year’s meet, who had a blunt response to Police Minister Mark Mitchell’s then-threats of tougher laws, going on TV and telling the minister to “get f***ed”.

The anonymous organiser also vowed on 1 News to invade Levin again.

A Facebook post announcing this weekend’s Levin invasion said: “Bring the numbers and in return y’all get a show”.

“Block the pigs at all costs.”

The coalition Government has signalled a tougher stance against boy racers, with new laws on the way enabling police to confiscate and destroy boy racers’ cars.

Two police officers were injured after they were pelted with rocks, bottles and bricks while responding to a boy racer meet-up in Levin on June 1 last year. Photo / New Zealand Police 

Police were ready to respond with “proactive enforcement” this weekend, Mitchell said yesterday.

“Police do an outstanding job at disrupting these events. This Government has zero tolerance for the reckless behaviour and disruption boy racers inflict on our communities ... we’re taking action to deter and crack down on this dangerous and inconsiderate behaviour.”

Police were aware of “a number” of anti-social road-user gatherings around the country this weekend, and wouldn’t tolerate behaviour endangering others and damaging roads and property.

“Police ... have plans in place to help ensure safety for all. This activity carries huge risk for those who take part and who observe, and is concerning and distressing to members of the public.”

Two police officers were injured after they were pelted with rocks, bottles and bricks while responding to last year’s meet-up.

About 30 police officers, armed with riot shields, were on the scene where more than 200 cars and their occupants had gathered.

Attendees themselves were also injured, with at least one man getting hit by a car as it did a burnout while others set off firecrackers.

It was a miracle no one watching the burnouts was killed, resident Guy Morgan said last year.

Not only was the crowd that circled the main SH1 intersection in Levin in danger of being hit by the out-of-control sliding cars, but at least 15 people had climbed on to shop facades.

“There was a guy hanging out the window and he could have easily been cut in half. It was that moronic.

One of those arrested was allegedly found carrying a flick knife, another allegedly wearing a stab-proof vest, Police Inspector Ross Grantham said last year.

And his officers were put at serious risk by the aggressive behaviour of many involved, he said.

“This is incredibly concerning, as it indicates that the crowd was not just car enthusiasts, but included people out to deliberately provoke, aggravate and endanger.”

Skid marks left a large group of cars did burnouts during a car meet in Levin. Photo / Dallas Puha 

Cherie Howie is an Auckland-based reporter who joined the Herald in 2011. She has been a journalist for more than 20 years and specialises in general news and features. 

Raphael Franks is an Auckland-based reporter who covers business, breaking news and local stories from Tāmaki Makaurau. He joined the Herald as a Te Rito cadet in 2022.