AN impassioned plea for action to combat 'appalling' vandalism was this week issued during a meeting in Tavistock. Members of the town council were horrified at the most recent incidents, in which two supposedly 'vandal-proof' bins were completely destroyed by fire. Works superintendent Wayne Southall told members it was costing council tax payers thousands of pounds just to keep on top of the problem. He said: 'The main areas they attack are the skate park and the teen shelter — these are having to be dealt with on a daily basis. 'But it's the first time they've actually managed to burn these bins — they were completely melted, they must have used a load of accelerant. 'We've also had tables sawn in half, the main shelter in the Meadows was burned down, we had all the ceiling repaired in the bandstand two weeks ago and two days later it had been damaged again. 'And they will leave human excrement on top or under the bins, just for the sheer hell of it — our lads have to deal with that on a regular basis.' Mr Southall said three years ago he estimated vandalism cost the council £15,000 a year — just to replace the two burned bins would be £1,100. New deputy town mayor Mandy Govier said she 'struggled to understand the mentality' of people who committed crimes like this. Cllr Govier said: 'You don't take a drill, a saw and accelerants out on a social night out. This is planned vandalism, there are no two ways about it. 'These people are thinking about how to destroy facilities that we provide. To put it bluntly, these people are going out tooled up to do this — it's outrageous.' Cllr Govier said the works department did such a great job of clearing up after vandals that many people did not realise how bad the problem was. 'We should be creating a real fuss about this,' she said. Cllr Philip Sanders said that despite the fact each incident of vandalism was reported to the police, the council should be making more of a nuisance of itself regarding the issue. He said the council ought to be 'the grain of sand in the oyster' and that constant complaints to the Chief Inspector might produce a higher police presence in the Meadows on a regular basis. Cllr Brian Trew said: 'If you wonder why you see a policeman with a speed camera, it's because there's been a high number of complaints. 'I would hope it would not just be members of this council who write to the police, it would be nice to think that people of this town would write en masse — that would certainly have an effect.' Cllr Chris Jenkins said the situation regarding the vandalism was 'pretty unpleasant', quite apart from costing the tax payer a considerable sum each year. He was concerned that the 'trim-trail' the council was hoping to install in the Meadows could also prove a target. 'It's meant to be vandal-proof but they are clearly finding ways to upset the apple-cart,' he said. Cllr Govier, who is chairman of South Devon and Dartmoor crime and disorder reduction partnership, said she would take the issue of vandalism up with the police at the earliest opportunity. Sgt Dave Anning, of Tavistock Police, said his officers took incidents of criminal damage such as those committed in the Meadows 'very seriously'. Sgt Anning said: 'We can serve warrants for criminal damage if we have information and evidence, for example if someone's taken out a saw to use. 'People can call Crimestoppers completely anonymously — and they can qualify for a cash award which can also be claimed anonymously.' Sgt Anning said statistically, since Tavistock had had a dedicated Police Community Support Officer (PCSO), incidents of criminal damage and vandalism had dropped. 'He is making a big difference. We do a month by month tally and consistently numbers are going down. 'There is a delicate balance to strike. We don't want to over-police certain areas because youngsters have to have somewhere to go and we don't want to make it difficult for them, or send the problem out into other areas like housing estates,' said Sgt Anning. Anyone who has any information regarding vandalism or criminal damage in Tavistock should call PCSO Kevin Williams at Tavistock Police Station on 08452 777444 or Crimestoppers on freephone 0800 555111.
