VANDALS have struck again at Tavistock’s popular park in defiance of an order meant to stamp out anti-social behaviour.

In what is thought to be at least the second occasion, culprits set fire to public toilets at the Bedford car park after breaking into the building in some time on Monday.

West Devon Borough Council, who own the toilets, immediately appealed for witnesses after the incident in the Meadows, which is likely to leave the authority with a hefty bill.

The council recently backed the owners of the Meadows, Tavistock Town Council, in their successful bid to have a Public Spaces Protection Order slapped on the popular open space.

That followed a spate of damage to town council property costing the authority thousands of pounds, and an apparently deliberate attempt to injure people using the Meadows by setting up broken glass booby traps around the park.

The order is designed to help police control anti-social behaviour and the consumption of alcohol in the park and was backed by Devon and Cornwall police and crime commissioner Alison Hernandez. Signs warning would-be offenders that the order was in force were recently put up by the town council. But since the order was imposed, vandals have smashed up the park’s Tavistock Sensory Garden, causing hundreds of pounds worth of damage.

A spokesperson for the borough council confirmed the male public toilets had been closed following the fire, which also caused smoke damage. Pipework was also ripped out. The spokesperson said: ‘We’re closing the toilets to assess the damage, carry out a deep clean, order repairs and undo the damage. Work had begun to improve these toilets, so seeing this type of mindless damage is not only frustrating but expensive to rectify.’

Anyone with information or who saw any suspicious behaviour are asked to contact westdevon.gov.uk and report it via the anti-social behaviour link in the residents/communities section