VOLUNTEERS who help maintain St Elphin’s Park in Warrington have been left devastated after vandals carried out arson attacks on two consecutive nights, targeting play equipment and a sensory garden.
With acts of vandalism on the increase, Friends of St Elphin’s Park have launched a crowdfunding page so they can install CCTV cameras to deter the vandals.
Volunteer Terry Flaherty said: “This has happened two nights on the run. On Friday night they set a fire near the children’s play area and last night in the sensory garden.
“They got a blue plastic barrel from somewhere, filled it with paper and cardboard and set it on fire. The fire brigade told me that this is a frequent occurrence in parks all over the town and they are called out on a regular basis.
“We are currently fundraising to get CCTV fitted but there are lots of obstacles which we are hoping to overcome. The vandals have already set fire to and destroyed two items of play equipment.
“We’ve got a Go Fund Me Page and think we need to raise around £5000. We would raise the money no problem if the Pavilion Tea Rooms were open but things are challenging for everyone at the moment,” added Terry.
The volunteer’s crowdfunding page has so far raised over £500 towards their £5,000 target to install CCTV cameras.
The appeal is being fronted by Bramble, their Park Keeper Bear, who is very sad that St. Elphin’s Park has been subjected to such vandalism.
The volunteers are asking their local councillors, Tony Higgins and Jean Flaherty to help get permission to have the CCTV installed but need to raise funds to pay for the necessary equipment.
While the park is beautifully maintained by volunteers and Warrington Borough Council, sadly, along with other parks, they have recently had several incidents of vandalism and arson, resulting in serious damage to very expensive play equipment, the outdoor lighting on the buildings and to the soft play tarmac surfaces.
They need the park to be a welcome haven to all visitors and they will not be deterred by the mindless behaviour of a very few.
Any support will help the volunteers to not only to maintain standards in the park but reinforce how important the park is to the local community and how their efforts are valued by the majority.
Donations can be made via https://www.gofundme.com/f/park-watch-scheme
Bramble the bear
The park in its prime during the summer
