Rotary team left dismayed after vandal attack

VOLUNTEERS were dismayed after they found flowers they planted at a railway station ripped out.

Displays of plants were wrecked by vandals at Church & Oswaldtwistle station on April 18, as we reported last month.

The Church and Oswaldtwistle Rotary Club have seen to keeping the station in good condition for the past seven years.

In a statement the club said: “It is very sad to see what has happened. Although from time to time there have been instances of bedding plants being removed, nothing compared to this mindless act of not only pulling out the daffodils but scattering them on the platform.”

From March to October members of the club carry out jobs at the station every Saturday morning, including tending to the flowers and sweeping the platforms.

Spokesperson and volunteer Michael Jackson, said: “I know these things happen and we have been fortunate really, we’ve been putting flowers in for the last seven years.

“Although we’ve had the odd instance of someone either pinching the begonias or pulling a couple out and chucking them onto the lines, in the main – considering there is no one ever on the station to stop these incidents happening – we have on the whole I think been a bit fortunate it’s not happened more often.”

The Rotary Club in the past few years have acquired a model wooden train and carriages to decorate the station.

All the scattered plants were quickly cleaned up by some volunteers from the rotary club and new begonias are expected to be planted across eight of the planters.

British Transport Police previously told the Observer they received a report of vandalism to flower displays at the station just before 8pm on April 18, and enquiries were ongoing.

Chris Jackson, regional director at Northern Rail, said: “It is disappointing to see the vandalism at

Church & Oswaldtwistle station. We have delivered millions of pounds of improvements at our stations across the network – aimed at improving journeys for our customers, and it is sad to see that this community-focused work is being undermined.

“We employ a specialist team of Travel Safe Officers across the north of England and continue to work closely with colleagues from British Transport Police to tackle the problem and deal with those who persist in causing problems.”