Police trespass 10 people at encampment at burnt-down Napier backpacker site

Police have issued at least 10 trespass notices to people illegally staying at a burnt-down former Napier backpacker site.

The former Kiwi Keith’s backpackers site on Marine Parade suffered an extensive fire in August 2023, with only one two-storey building surviving the blaze.

It had been vacant for a few years when it burnt down.

On Friday about 8.20am, a large police presence swooped on the site and issued between 10 and 12 trespass notices around what appeared to be a make-shift tent-like building among the debris from the fire-damaged building.

A police spokeswoman said the notices were issued to people staying inside the property.