Michelle Mycroft was one of the camp-goers who helped out when a man fell into the main bonfire at Vinegar Hill just after the New Year’s Eve countdown. Photo: Calum Bennachie The 27-year-old man suffered such severe burns to his hands and legs, he was airlifted from the Vinegar Hill to Lower Hutt Hospital. Mycroft, who is a nurse and has attended the Vinegar Hill New Year’s celebrations four times previously, says she has “never witnessed such a disorganised event.” She says there were no medics on site and for a large event such as this, it was “absolutely not on and not safe.” Mycroft says her tent was situated just outside the “gay” camping area as there was not enough space for everyone to be accommodated in the main area. She says many of these tents had personal items stolen from them, car keys were taken and tents slashed. “People had makeup, jewellery and kids items stolen and many campsites were ransacked." A large fight broke out close to her campsite and she says Police appeared to do nothing to calm the situation. “No one from the gay community came to our aid we were left to our own devices feeling really let down and deflated,” says Mycroft, who says she had a really great and enjoyable time at the Vinegar Hill celebrations despite the few hours just after the New Year’s Eve countdown. She says there were no medics or fire services on hand and this is an area that needs to be addressed in the future. “This very easily could have ended in a loss of life.”
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Tuesday, 5th January 2016 - 2:53pm