A CHILDREN'S adventure playground became a bonfire after it went up in flames.
The play equipment site — officially opened by the mayor of Okehampton, Cllr Christine Marsh two years ago — is now cordoned off and out of bounds to village children.
Some £16,000 worth of equipment was ruined and had to be removed.
Police are investigating the blaze which happened on the village sporting green at 3pm on Saturday and was put out by the fire service.
John Leonard, chairman of Bridestowe Parish Council, said it had taken a lot of effort to raise the money to purchase the equipment, which included a tunnel, slide and climbing frames.
Cash had come from grants and the parish council with the Lord of Bridestowe Sanctuary, New York lawyer Thomas Moore, making an added donation of 10% of what was raised.
Mr Leonard said: 'I'm sickened by what has happened. It is a small community with a super lot of kids. We have never had an incident like this before.
'Whether it was youngsters playing around and something got out of hand or whether it was deliberate I don't know.
'People are livid about it. We worked hard to get it and the clerk worked hard to get the grants. We put a lot of thought into the package and provided a facility that was much appreciated — now it is a bonfire.'
He said the council was fairly confident that the equipment was insured.
'We may be able to replace it in time. But it is rather frightening to people that it has happened in the first place.'
He said the area was cordoned off and the badly damaged items taken down to avoid an accident.
'If we do get it rebuilt it will be at the end of the summer or autumn. With the summer holidays coming up children would have been using it.
'We have a super community and a nice lot of kids. It is very disappointing.'