VANDALS have smashed up a collection of ‘irreplacable’ memories at Tavistock’s Sensory Garden in what is being described as a vindictive attack.

Glass panels set in stone were destroyed with what trustees believe was a heavy object such a small sledgehammer, probably some time during the Queen’s Jubilee celebrations.

The panels, painted by a local artist, depicted memories of Tavistock such as the canal and the River Tavy by people in their 80s.

Garden trustee Graham Parker said the damage was particularly upsetting as the now-destroyed scenes represented memories from some people who had perhaps since died since the panels were installed at the garden.

He said: ‘It’s something that can never be replaced. Those panels held memories of people of Tavistock who were in their 80s or 90s and it’s quite possible that some of them have sadly passed on. They were absolutely unique and the fact that they have now gone has saddened all of us.

‘We don’t know exactly when it happened, but we think it was probably during the Queen’s jubilee celebrations. Again, we don’t know how it was done, but it looks like somebody used a small sledgehammer on it, something maybe like a pound hammer.’

Mr Parker said the attack on the panels had been followed by damage caused to an ornament in memory of a Tavistock resident.

He said some time on Monday after, the willow deer ornament was pulled out of the ground and upended.

Mr Parker said it had been put back in its original place, but said: ‘I don’t have any faith that this will last for long. The deer is a memorial to a resident and it would devastate his family if it was damaged further.

‘The damage that is being done at the garden is vindictive, to say the least, and I’ve run out of ideas over how to prevent it.

‘Some of this damage is being done in broad daylight, so people must see what is going on.

‘What makes it worse is that somebody is well aware who is responsible for this damage and yet will not come forward to indentify the culprits.

‘I know the police are doing their best, but they can’t be here for 24 hours a day. It seems, though, that at least some of this damage is being done in broad daylight.

‘All we can do is to ask that keep their eyes on the garden and report anything they see to the police immediately.’

Work on the garden, which is open to the public, but particularly aimed at people with dementia and their carers, started five years ago.

It is in The Meadows, which has seen a steady rise in anti-social behaviour over the past 18 months.

Last year, West Devon Borough Council placed a public spaces protection order on the park in response to mounting problems, which was designed to help police officers tackle a rash of criminal damage and arson.

The order was imposed at the request of the land’s owners, Tavistock Town Council, who suffered thousands of pounds worth of damage to their own equipment.

Bowls club arson: page four