POLICE and councillors in Callington were left ‘very disappointed’ after yet another spate of vandalism stopped children from enjoying some of the town’s play equipment over the weekend.

Damage was caused to a Cornish hedge and the play equipment in the Saltash Road Recreation Ground, presumed by police to have happened between Wednesday, September 23 and Thursday, September 24.

One of the Cornish hedgerows surrounding the park had been damaged and extensive damage was caused to the play fort, forcing it to be closed off over the weekend.

Callington Town Council clerk Helen Dowdall said: ‘Inconsiderate people have taken stones out of the Cornish hedgerow and seriously damaged the lovely play equipment that is well-used by many people in the community, particularly the children from the primary school opposite.

‘To have these mindless acts of vandalism happen is really disheartening for us at the council. The staff worked really hard over the weekend to fix the fort and get it back up and running by Monday.’

This incident follows a number of other reports of vandalism in the town, most recently in the park in Tamar Close, where graffiti was repeatedly drawn on fences and benches.

The offenders were caught and were disciplined through restorative justice.

‘The council gets very despondent when we are trying to work hard to make the town a better place for everybody,’ said Mrs Dowdall. ‘We should be using the tax payers’ money to make improvements to the town, not to keep paying to fix these recurrent incidents of vandalism.’

The town council is now working with police to view CCTV footage and obtain any information relating to the incident.

PCSO Clare Danson said it was a thoughtless act of vandalism which had upset countless numbers of children who had not been able to climb the fort over the weekend.

‘Unfortunately the CCTV is not good enough quality for us to be able to tell whether it is kids playing on the fort or someone damaging it so we are relying on the public to come forward with information,’ she said.

‘This must have taken quite a bit of effort by the vandals so we are sure someone will have noticed something suspicious.

‘We do have incidents of graffiti and minor vandalism around the town but this is the first time in the 18 months that I have been here that I have seen anything of this magnitude.

‘The cost implications are massive. It is lucky that the town council workers have managed to do the repairs themselves — had they needed to get people in to fix it, the costs would have been even more.’

In response to an appeal for information on Callington Police’s Facebook page, parents and residents showed their frustration with the damage that had been done. One parent said: ‘Why do people really feel the need to damage a kids play park — well damage anything full stop? Is there any need for it?’. Other comments included: ‘This is awful! What is wrong with people? Some people just have no respect or pride for the community in which they live’ and ‘There’s so much that can be done with that park, but what’s the point when some ungrateful, silly individuals can’t treat what’s already there nicely.’

Anyone with any information about who is responsible for this damage is asked to contact police on 101, quoting crime reference number CR/67295/15 or you can email [email protected]