‘Community faces bill for repairing damage’

Police are hunting vandals who damaged a picnic table, sculpture, school windows and allotments in a vandalism spree.

Great Chart with Singleton Parish Council reported the damage to the park off Cuckoo Lane in Singleton after finding a new picnic table smashed to bits on Tuesday morning of last week.

It is believed a group carried out the vandalism the night before, starting with a break-in at Hillcrest allotments before going on to the park opposite John Wesley Primary School.

Parish clerk Aniko Szocs has appealed for anyone with information to help catch the culprits. She said: “We were called on Tuesday morning by residents who told us the new picnic table had been smashed up – and when I say smashed, it was literally smashed to the ground.

“After that we heard the Hillcrest allotments had been broken into, and play equipment at Cuckoo Park has been damaged where they appear to have carved the wood.

“There was also damage to the ears of the mouse sculpture, so we will have to ask the artist if it can be repaired.

“Residents are really upset because the park is well used and is a focal point of the community. Now we have to replace the damage.

“The park was put there for the public to enjoy the outdoors, but now the public is going to have to pay to repair the mindless vandalism.”

The nearby John Wesley Primary School was also targeted, with head teacher Gail Spragg reporting that vandals appear to have used catapults to break windows.

She said that three windows in the school hall will have to be replaced and a door on the new phase two building will also need to be repaired. Anyone with information is urged to call the parish council on 01233 616923.