French tourist charged with damaging a road sign after being stuck hitchhiking in Punakaiki for four days unable to get a lift.

A tourist who damaged road signs and called Kiwis Nazis because he could not get a lift for four days planned to keep hitchhiking.

But Cedric Claude Rene Rault-Verpre, 27, of France, should best avoid heading back to the South Island's West Coast.

Grey District mayor Tony Kokshoorn said he was not welcome back.

JOANNE CARROLL French hitchhiker Cedric Claude Rene Rault-Verpre leaves court.

"If we as a place were exiling a person we will certainly be using it on him," he said.

READ MORE: French hitchhiker faces $3000 bill for sign damage after long wait

"We don't want to see him anymore. West Coasters are very receptive to people. Our economy is reliant on tourism and we welcome people from all over the world with open arms but he is a bad apple. Good riddance. Goodbye and don't come back."

SUPPLIED French hitchhiker Cedric Claude Rene Rault-Verpre.

Rault-Verpre was arrested and charged with wilful damage after he attacked a road sign in Punakaiki, a popular tourist town on the South Island's West Coast, on Monday.

He appeared in the Greymouth District Court before a registrar on Tuesday and pleaded guilty, despite claiming the sign was already damaged. He was billed $3000 for the damage.

Duty lawyer Marcus Zintl said Rault-Verpre intended to hitchhike to Christchurch, where he would reappear in court on Friday.

"He said that was one of his options. His favoured option," he said.

Punakaiki tourism operator Neil Mouat called police after seeing Rault-Verpre's erratic behaviour in the resort.

"He is Generation Y. It's all about him. He was lying on the road on a blind corner where people were possibly going to hit him. He was having a petulant fit," he said.

Mouat did not believe the sign had been already damaged.

"He was getting stuck into the main entrance sign to Punakaiki. It's a 3 metre road sign and he dented the whole thing like an outbreak of measles. He was pretty determined. He got in there to deface the whole thing. He uprooted three signs – threw two in the bushes and one into the river. He was sort of making a job of it," he said.

'HE SHOWED HIS REAL CHARACTER'

Kokshoorn did not believe the disgruntled hitchhiker story going viral would damage New Zealand's reputation.

"There are always a lot of hitchhikers coming through the Coast. Most people get a lift quickly. He really needs to look inwardly at himself to figure out why he didn't get offered a lift," he said.

"For him to go on a rant and vandalise stuff the drivers were obviously perceptive and knew the type of person he was.

"He has showed the whole of New Zealand his real character after doing vandalism and not owning up to his misdemeanours. He then carries into court the same attitude and arrogance.

"By calling New Zealanders arseholes and Nazis he is digging a hole so deep for himself," Kokshoorn said.

HITCHHIKER TAKES SWIPE AT 'NAZI ZEALAND'

Police alleged Rault-Verpre pulled one sign out of the ground and threw it in the nearby Punakaiki River and hurled large rocks at another. Witnesses told police he verbally abused tourists and locals.

Rault-Verpre reacted angrily to reporters outside court. Had he not pleaded guilty and paid reparation he faced a wait of some months for a defended hearing before a judge.

"You should change the name Nazi Zealand not New Zealand," he said .

"I've been to the worst part of the US. The worst American is not an a...... like a New Zealander. In Europe we have judges, we don't charge people and say you pay or you stay six months in New Zealand."

TOURIST 'NORMALLY PRETTY QUIET'

Rault-Verpre's profile on couchsurfing.com describes him as a "hitchhiker who is travelling around".

He said the opportunity to meet someone "it's usually good, sometimes great, sometimes boring. The couch is not so important to me but the hospitality is."

His interests include nature, beautiful mountains, cultures and old arts.

"Ruins not crowded by tourists and their bloody camera. Lively cities with good food in the street. People who are able to think, the ones who don't have education but act nicely toward others."

He has visited 80 countries, and received recommendations from hosts around the world including six glowing references from Kiwis.

Bevan Tinker, from Auckland, said Cedric was well travelled and knowledgeable. "He cleans up after himself and is a nice friendly guy," he said.

Cathy Danks from Whangarei said Rault-Verpre was welcome back anytime.

"I do not think any words can describe Cedric. Anybody who has hitchhiked through 70 countries and is still going is unique. He said he is normally pretty quiet but he wasn't when we got talking. He has a unique perspective on people, countries and cultures from his travels. He certainly challenged a lot of my ways of thinking. We had some great debates and I learnt a lot from him," she said.