Just about every major news outlet in New Zealand covered the story of how the group had apparently managed to trash beaches, appear in court, ruin flights, steal food and drink, harass locals, and be called pigs by the mayor of Auckland.

Speaking with local radio station bFM last week, Auckland mayor Phil Goff labelled them "assholes", "trash", and "leeches".

Goff later told the New Zealand Herald the tourists were "worse than pigs".

The group has since threatened to sue the mayor for his remarks.



There is little way of verifying whether the British family are responsible for all the accusations levelled at them. What we do know is this: A group of British people travelling together were handed deportation notices by police on Jan. 15 after an incident at a Burger King.

It was the culmination of days of reports from New Zealand press about the family's alleged antics. The individuals served by immigration officials have 28 days to either appeal the order or leave the country.



A man and his son from the family could have been the catalyst for all of this.

It began, as many things do now, with a viral video. A New Zealand woman confronted a tourist about the mess they had left on a beach, before a young boy wearing a Bunnings hardware store hat approached her, shouting, "I'll knock your brains out!"