Vandals spoil our country parks
Mindless vandals have caused tens of thousands of pounds worth of damage at Warwickshire County Council’s Country Parks in recent weeks.
The most serious of a string of incidents of vandalism and attempted break-ins happened at Kingsbury Water Park in North Warwickshire when a bird hide was burnt to the ground.
The hide, a haven for bird watchers at the picturesque park, was torched on Christmas Eve, causing more than £10,000 of damage.
In previous months vandals at Kingsbury Water Park have attempted break-ins at the cycle hire, smashed picnic benches, damaged the play area and broken windows.
At Burton Dassett Country Park in South Warwickshire parking meters have been wrecked and thrill-seekers destroyed park land by using it as an off-road race track – in this case the culprits were caught by police after they posted a video of their deeds on You Tube.
Other incidents include attempted break-ins at the Ryton Pools cafe and visitor centre and vandalism to the toilets at Hartshill Hayes Country Park.
Before the latest incident, the county council had spent £4,000 just to repair damage caused by vandals.
Paula Cheesman, Country Parks Manager, said: “People should remember that these are community facilities and that this sort of mindless vandalism causes unnecessary expenditure of public money.
“We are currently in very difficult financial times and now we are faced with the cost of replacing more damaged infrastructure. Please respect the countryside so that everyone can enjoy it.
“I would appeal to anyone who has information about this vandalism at Kingsbury, or sees somebody acting suspiciously at any of our country parks, to contact the police immediately.”
Kingsbury Water Park has 15 lakes situated in over 600 acres of park land and is home to many wildlife species. The bird hides are an important feature of the park to give people the chance view wildlife in its natural habitat.
For more information on any of our parks, visit the website at http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/parks where you can download a free copy of our events booklet.