CANBERRA (Reuters) - Organizers of Australia's biggest hot-rod car festival on Monday pledged to review security after a drunken mob of hundreds of men surrounded women and demanded they flash their breasts during an angry rampage.
The mob, estimated at up to 400 strong, marched through streets at the Summernats street car festival on Saturday in the capital Canberra after authorities attempted to crack down on unruly behavior at what had been billed as a "family event."
"Anybody that brought their family in here would have to be dysfunctional," one security guard told local papers after the mob circled any women it passed, as outnumbered authorities watched, powerless to intervene.
Summernats is Australia's biggest and best-known car festival and draws more than 110,000 fans who each January queue to see the latest chromed and airbrushed street machines. The military also attend in a bid to boost recruiting among the youth turning up at the festival.
But the event, celebrating its 21st year, is controversial and has been marred in the past by fans clashing with police, car accidents and strong opposition from local Canberra residents angered by illegal drag racing and raucous behavior.
Summernats organizer Chic Henry on Monday said the protest mob was the first ever seen at the three-day festival, describing the mob pictured in newspaper front pages as a "big group of happy people marching around."
But witnesses crossing paths with the mob said they had been terrified and described young girls as being in tears as jeering youths demanded they flash their breasts in a repeat of the event's raunchy origins when stripping competitions were featured.
Canberra Tourism Minister Andrew Barr said the disruption had been minimal when compared to the tourist revenues drawn in by the large crowd of interstate visitors.
Henry said a call to restrict alcohol at next year's event to avoid another mob confrontation would be counter-productive, although security would be reviewed.
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