A tyre swing vandalised in the Redwoods Forest off Rangiuru Road has been restored.

A post on the Sunny Ōtaki Facebook page outraged many locals when they heard it had been cut down

and burned during a recent weekend.

Local beach resident David Kennedy went down to check the damage and offered to fix it. He has a similar tyre swing in his own garden.

David found a tyre from the dump,

and with his friend, Funbar Douglas, and a long ladder they were able to tie a new rope in place. After connecting the tyre they gave it a test. Once it was safe David posted on social media that it was good to go.

David lives on Manuka Street and walks in the forest regularly. He sees the swing being used often, especially during the holiday season. He’s lived in Ōtaki for five and a half years, but had been coming here for more than 15 years to camp and tramp.

Locals appreciated his efforts to restore the swing.

“I’ve been overwhelmed and humbled by the amazing feedback since we restored it,” he says.

Gillian Hayes, owner of Beachbrook Stables on Rangiuru Road, said taking her kids from her horse-riding school holiday camps to the forest is a highlight of their stay. There were some sad faces when they were told the swing had been vandalised.

“The tyre swing has provided many happy memories for hundreds of children from Beachbrook in the short four years it has been there,” she said. “You made a lot of kids happy this week David. Thank you!”

Overwhelming feedback on Facebook has been that families enjoy going there.

“That swing brings so much enjoyment to our community. I hoped it would be replaced and wow, the fact that they can get up that tree and secure the rope is an amazing feat in itself,” Shelley Hill posted.