Wellington: Members of a British family have been branded "worse than pigs" and face deportation from New Zealand after a spree of bad behaviour that left normally easygoing Kiwis outraged.
The family have been involved in a string of incidents in and around Auckland and Hamilton, including accusations of littering, assault, not paying for restaurant meals and intimidating behaviour.
Auckland mayor Phil Goff led national outcry at the tourists' antics, demanding the police take action. "These guys are trash. They are leeches," he told a local radio station.
"If you say one time 'I found a hair or an ant in my meal' you'd believe it but they find it every meal that they have as a way of evading payment. That's a criminal activity.
"They're worse than pigs and I'd like to see them out of the country."
New Zealand's assistant general manager of immigration, Peter Devoy, said the family had been issued with a deportation notice on the grounds of "matters relating to character".
One 26-year-old member of the family on Wednesday pleaded guilty to stealing NZ$55 ($37) worth of goods from a petrol station.
The family attracted extensive media coverage in New Zealand after a video showed them leaving beer boxes, bottles and other rubbish strewn on a popular beach.
When a woman asked them to clean up their litter, a child in the group can be seen on video threatening he would "knock your brains out".
Stuff Media reported that one family member hit a journalist with her shoe after being approached for comment.
A member of the family told the New Zealand Herald they have now decided to cut short their holiday and will return home this week.
John Johnson insisted his family were of good stock, claimed his grandfather was the "10th richest man in England" and said he was made to feel "very unwelcome" in New Zealand.
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