VANDALS have broken into the historic former Carlton Cinema in Okehampton causing devastation the likes of which town mayor Tony Leech says he has never seen before. The vandals: l Tore up and broke rows of chairs l defaced side panel murals l Damaged the cinema screen l sprayed fire hoses lshattered glass around the floor inside the building. The art deco cinema stopped showing films more than two years ago and is due to be demolished to make way for town centre flats. Cllr Leech said: ?I have not seen such devastation in all my life. I am absolutely appalled that anyone from Okehampton would be able to do this. ?I find it distressing that we have this sort of mentality in town.? Cllr Leech called on anyone who knew anything about who may have been responsible for the ?mindless? vandalism to contact the police, so that those responsible could be brought to justice. Since opening in the 1930s the Carlton Cinema has played a major role in the entertainment life of generations of families in Okehampton. The vandalism was discovered when the developers visited the site last Friday afternoon. They were horrified to survey the widespread damage done after vandals had gained entry to the building. It is not known exactly when the vandalism occurred but it is believed to have been at sometime between January 8 and 20 and may have been carried out in a succession of visits to the building. Developer Michael Gray said: ?We have made quite an effort to secure the building, because people have got in before on a number of occasions. Our main concern is that someone does not get hurt.? He said fortunately, the cinema?s projection equipment had not been damaged. It appears someone also attempted to light a fire in one corner of the building. Sgt Richard Nettleship, of Okehampton Police, said disused buildings posed a number of hazards: ?The building has not been used for some time so it could be dangerous, as there could be no fire extinguishers or the fire doors could be sealed.? Sgt Nettleship said if young people had caused the damage while using the building as ?a den or a playground? not only were they committing an offence, what they were doing was also very dangerous. Anyone who may have any information about the intruders is asked to contact PC Hughes at Okehampton Police Station on 08452 777444. Cllr Leech said the developers had previously very kindly offered to make some of the contents of the cinema, such as the cinema seats, screen and projector, available to the town, but it was unclear what could now be salvaged amid the destruction.
