Speeding fan clocked at 145kmh

A heavy-footed Lions’ fan’s vehicle was clocked at 145kmh through South Canterbury.

The fan was driving with five passengers at a speed a police office branded as ’’just unacceptable’’.

The driver put ‘‘not only himself but other road users in danger’’ by driving at such a high speed, Constable Craig Hedges, of St Andrews, said.

The 29-year-old man was driving a rental van on State Highway 1 on Wednesday afternoon.

He was clocked driving at 145kmh when his van got to the southern approach to the Otaio passing lanes at just after 4.20pm, Hedges said.

‘‘It’s the old adage of the faster you go the bigger the mess, and 145kmh is just unacceptable.’’

The fan had his British driving licence suspended for 28 days and was was fined about $600.

He was breath tested but was not found to be under the influ- ence of alcohol.

‘‘I know they have had a few issues with tourists and their vehicles on the North Island, so it’s probably not just an isolated incident,’’ Hedges said.

Hedges noted media reports of Lions fans being caught speeding after their team’s game against New Zealand Maori in Rotorua.

The fan caught in South Canterbury was ‘‘very apologetic’’, but driving that fast just wasn’t on, Hedges said.

Road safety issues arose whenever there was an influx of tourists into New Zealand, Hedges said.

There ought to be more done to educate tourists arriving in New Zealand before they headed onto the country’s road network, he said.

Air quality

Air quality standards were breached for the first time this year in Waimate and Geraldine, and for the sixth in Timaru, on Wednesday, Environment Canterbury confirmed yesterday. Its monitoring station in Geraldine recorded a 24 hour average PM10 concentration of 54 micrograms of suspended particulate per cubic metre of air. In Waimate, ECan’s station recorded an average PM10 concentration of 62 micrograms. A 24-hour average over 50 micrograms indicates high pollution under the national air quality standards. In Timaru, ECan’s station at Anzac Square recorded an average concentration of 69 micrograms. Metservice forecaster Cameron Coutts confirmed the day on which the readings were made was the coldest of winter so far.

Council considers new policy

Mackenzie District Councillors will consider adopting a new land subdivision reserve policy at next Tuesday’s meeting. It would give the council more guidance as to how funds were distributed from the land subdivision reserve fund. The fund is contributed to by developers for the provision of open space, recreational areas and facilities in the district. The council was able to allocate money to various projects from the fund but currently there was no policy in place to determine how the funds were distributed. A draft policy was attached to the agenda, including suggestions that funds from the land subdivision reserve be used only for projects which have a strong recreational or open space link, and that funds from the reserve only be used for projects located within the Mackenzie District.

Police notebook

Incidents included:

Police in Timaru are investigating a complaint of all four wheels being stolen from a car parked on Grey Rd, sometime on June 17. Police are also looking into an allegation that someone tried to break in to a building on the street.

A Timaru man was arrested in Christchurch at 9.50am on Wednesday for unlawfully taking a Nissan Bluebird in the St Martins area of Christchurch.

A 26-year-old Timaru man was arrested at 4am on Thursday for wilful damage after throwing a piece of concrete through a window on Pukaki St. reported to police