Vandals cause £2k of damage to community garden

VANDALS who trashed a community garden used by families in crisis have left its creators “disheartened”.

Eight years of hard work by a team of fathers who use Kirkcaldy’s Cottage Family Centre has been destroyed by youths who broke in.

Workers at the project are used to discovering broken glass and other damage when they arrive on a Monday, but they were devastated to discover the extent of the latest wrecking spree. A polytunnel was ripped open, a newly painted bird table smashed to bits and a large wooden caterpillar broken.

The Cottage in Cawdor Crescent provides a range of support services to vulnerable children and families in the town and the garden is especially popular with people who don’t have their own outside space.

Senior family worker Lana Moffat said youngsters would be unable to use it until it had been repaired.

“They can’t go out, and the dads who created the garden are getting disheartened,” she said.

“We have a lot of families who use this garden. We provide free lunches in the summer for families in crisis or on low incomes. Normally parents take the kids into the garden for a picnic — but unfortunately we’ve not been able to do that this week.”

It is also used by pupils at nearby Valley and Fair Isle primary schools during term time and repairs are continually having to be made to ensure it is safe.

“We’ve had a problem for quite some time at weekends,” said Lana. “The garden is securely locked and we have high fences and CCTV but they’re still sneaking in and drinking in the gardens.”

A number of people thought to be responsible have been reported to the police.