Parks hit by vandals (From Salisbury Journal)

Parks hit by vandals

2:18pm Friday 16th November 2012 in News By Morwenna Blake

PARKS and green spaces in across Salisbury have been targeted by vandals.

Bins in Harnham, Bemerton Heath and Victoria Park have all been damaged beyond repair in the last fortnight, with fireworks being used to destroy a number of dog bins.

And the carousel swing in the children’s play area in Queen Elizabeth Gardens has also been damaged.

“It’s always disappointing and frustrating when this happens” said senior parks officer Chris Stringer. “Organising repairs and replacements obviously takes time, but it’s also far more costly than you might expect, with new bins costing hundreds of pounds to supply and install.

“This is money that we’d much rather be spending on improvements in the city’s parks; put simply, we could have bought a new set of swings or a football goal with the money we’re now going to have to use replacing bins.”

City council leader Jo Broom said: “It is such a shame that a minority is choosing to spoil our parks like this.”