Course wrecked by nude vandals

NAKED vandals have been swimming across a river to wreck a golf course by daubing pictures of genitalia on the putting greens.

Ingleby Barwick Golf Academy has had trouble with bare-bottomed hooligans swimming across the River Tees from Preston Park and wrecking the greens.

Amy Morgan, the owner and director of Ingelby Barwick Golf Academy, confirmed vandalism had cost the club £1,000 a week after youths set fire to benches, stole balls from people playing on the course, went joyriding in the golf buggies and smashed up a tractor.

She said: “They throw balls at the golfers, take the flags out of the holes and throw them in the river. We’ve tried several times with the police last summer. They don’t seem able to help.

“They swim across from the park. Some of them have taken their clothes off – it’s not good for the ladies to see.”

Ms Morgan said staff had removed flags from the holes to prevent further vandalism, only for the hooligans to hack images of penises into the putting greens.

“But it’s more that they are shouting abuse and upsetting the golfers,” she said.

“On a more serious level, there is going to be a child that’s going to drown sooner or later.

“That river is full of weeds – it’s very dangerous.”

Ms Morgan said the youths were typically aged around 14 or 15.

“I can totally understand the council’s difficulties – it’s such a large area to cover.”

She added:“The park itself isn’t a nice place to be at certain times of the day with the abuse that gets shouted over by these youths.”