Cost of Blackburn and Darwen playground vandalism revealed (From Lancashire Telegraph)
When news happens, text LT and your photos and videos to 80360. Or contact us by email or phone.
|
JOIN THE DEBATE BY ADDING YOUR COMMENTS ON THESE STORIES Registering to post comments on the Lancashire Telegraph website only takes a few seconds. Click here to go to the registration page. |
Cost of Blackburn and Darwen playground vandalism revealed
6:00pm Sunday 5th September 2010 in
-
- By Tom Moseley » Reporter
ANOTHER of Blackburn and Darwen’s new playgrounds has been vandalised – and shocked bosses are warning they cannot afford to keep repairing it.
The play area at Bold Venture Park, Darwen, was set alight in the early hours yesterday.
Vandals dragged a wheelie bin to the middle of the play area, damaging the flooring and four rubber toadstools installed last year as part of the £2.5million Play Pathfinder initiative.
It is the latest of a spate of attacks on the borough’s new play areas:
* A tyre swing was burned out last month in Laburnum Road.
* A shelter was attacked in a playground off Burnley Road in July
* A swing was destroyed and its support posts sawn through, off Livesey Branch Road in June.
* A £50,000 play area in Newfield Drive, Higher Croft, was badly damaged by fire in October just three months after it was opened.
Back in April 2008 council bosses vowed to end the ‘no ball games culture’ after being awarded £2.5million to revamp dozens of play areas in the borough.
But now they are calling on communities to be more vigilant and help protect the facilities.
Speaking after the latest incident, Coun Michael Law-Riding, who was in charge of the scheme and is now executive member for the environment, said: “We are going to struggle to repair this with the budgets being cut back.
"And if we can’t repair them we will have to close them down.
“It’s just mindless vandalism. People are just choosing to go out and damage this stuff – it’s just crackers.
“A lot of these areas are overlooked by people, and we need help from members of the comm-unity to identify these people and tell us and the police who the trouble-makers are.”
Darwen Fire Station’s watch manager Tony Hartley said: “It’s caused about six square metres of damage to the flooring.
"I would assume they were sitting there for a while. A passer-by alerted us.”
“I know they spent a lot of money on the play area and I would imagine it's going to cost a lot of money to replace that area.
"It will have to be cordoned off.”
Comments(15)
GAYzer
says...
8:12pm Sun 5 Sep 10
Davidoff
says...
8:19pm Sun 5 Sep 10
.
Round them up, preferably using cattle prods, stun guns if necessary, remember these youths are 'feral' and prone to spontaneous outbreaks of 'mad cow disease' at any given moment if you go near one of them or 'provoke' them somehow by merely walking by ... get them into a penned off area. Then go round the parents of these people, kick the doors down so they then have your attention - because let's face it but any parent who doesn't know where their children are at 4.30 am **** well deserves to be prosecuted for child neglect, let alone aiding and abetting criminal damage throughout the town after the fact by not caring to know the whereabouts of their offspring - and give them the **** bill for the damage their children have caused. But wait a minute, we can't do that can we? Because all these 'types' know exactly how to complain, they rehearse soon as being brought into this world it seems from a very early age, and indoctrinated into the 'ways' of their peers very very quickly when the shoe is on the other foot. They have 'rights' but what a shame they DO have rights because they **** well don't deserve any.
artois
says...
9:42pm Sun 5 Sep 10
With regards to police response, a neighbour reported to the police about some teenagers stripping bark off the trees on the grassed area at the end of Nave Close in darwen. The officer on the phone agreed with my neighbour that they probably had something sharp to strip the bark but still no sign of a patrol or a follow up call.
If the police read these posts the same kids are there every night looking at their handywork.
sadly things will probably get a lot worse before the relevant authorities receive the money to police and provide facilities for the children that roam our streets with nothing better to do than vandalise
artois
says...
10:11pm Sun 5 Sep 10
A possible solution
Parents could take an interest in where their children go at night
mmmmm maybe thats asking to much
DEO VOLENTE
says...
10:26pm Sun 5 Sep 10
blackburner
says...
7:45am Mon 6 Sep 10
who comes up with these air brained schemes,
your granny
says...
9:09am Mon 6 Sep 10
"It is a well estabished fact that the roots of this type of senseless vandalism lie in the naivety of the "New Labour" government."
based on what? what evidence have you got beside the little voices in your head?
There has always been senseless vandalism, it's just that Liebour created more play areas to burn. At least they tried, which is more than can be said for the ConDems who are cutting funding to the police and getting rid of the much needed community police.
useyourhead
says...
9:42am Mon 6 Sep 10
-
With any succesful prosecutions being made to pay towards or physically help with the repairs. Stop some of thier benefits (or parents benefits).
-
They may pay attention to what thier offspring are doing when they can't afford fags and booze!
your granny
says...
10:24am Mon 6 Sep 10
useyourhead wrote:you do get the feeling that some parents don't know or care about what their kids are up to.
Surely it could be more cost effective to employ patrols to monitor the areas of vandalism? - With any succesful prosecutions being made to pay towards or physically help with the repairs. Stop some of thier benefits (or parents benefits). - They may pay attention to what thier offspring are doing when they can't afford fags and booze!
Lancs Lassie
says...
12:26pm Mon 6 Sep 10
. but they are probably somewhere else in the town getting off their faces......these ferals cannot be trained.....put your time and energy into something worthwhile
BuckoTheMoose
says...
1:21pm Mon 6 Sep 10
CapitaBackHander
says...
11:39pm Mon 6 Sep 10
Davidoff wrote:What force are you calling? Have you ever actually called Lancashire police (can't comment on 999 as never call) to report an on going crime?
And does everyone else also know that in the event you are to call them you are asked by the call centre person 'how old are they?'. WTF difference does or SHOULD that make, they are causing criminal damage! Waste of time reporting anything. I know I am not alone. If you do phone to report something - I mean does it have to get so far in this country that you see a gang of youths kicking someone to death and you try to get the police out and they won't show up, because I'm afraid that is where it's been heading and has been for ages, forget the victims let's pander to the thugs, instead and not arrest them and make their lives easier! - but back to the main point. . Round them up, preferably using cattle prods, stun guns if necessary, remember these youths are 'feral' and prone to spontaneous outbreaks of 'mad cow disease' at any given moment if you go near one of them or 'provoke' them somehow by merely walking by ... get them into a penned off area. Then go round the parents of these people, kick the doors down so they then have your attention - because let's face it but any parent who doesn't know where their children are at 4.30 am **** well deserves to be prosecuted for child neglect, let alone aiding and abetting criminal damage throughout the town after the fact by not caring to know the whereabouts of their offspring - and give them the **** bill for the damage their children have caused. But wait a minute, we can't do that can we? Because all these 'types' know exactly how to complain, they rehearse soon as being brought into this world it seems from a very early age, and indoctrinated into the 'ways' of their peers very very quickly when the shoe is on the other foot. They have 'rights' but what a shame they DO have rights because they **** well don't deserve any.
The operator and police response is spot on.
I had in the past the need to call Greater Manchester police and....... well they deserve all they get!
I have called (grassed if you like) the Lancashire police re break-in, serious fight, vandalising of bus shelter (hate the morons who do this!) and the response was probably better than 999.
If I lived near the park I would happily call while crime going on so police can catch them - give statement/witness is a different thing which alot of people get confused about!
See above a silly comment above living near them, the facilities are for young children/kids and not feral i.e. 12yr+ louts. The problems of groups gathering will still happen when park burnt down!
Excluded again
says...
7:21am Tue 7 Sep 10
lsm
says...
7:53am Tue 7 Sep 10
DEO VOLENTE wrote:i wish you would put a sock in it your no better just look a the town centre its a tip and you and new labour all the time. you have that clown in pleasington referring to the crematorium has a waste disposable plant is that any way to call a love one who has just passed away.
It is a well estabished fact that the roots of this type of senseless vandalism lie in the naivety of the "New Labour" government."New Labour" and their Politically disorientated, spendaholic, champagne socilaist, politically (in)correct policies allowed "criminals" to run amok. We must never allow "New Labour to infect and corrupt the U.K. again. Are you listening "Mr Nihiliband"?
roll on the next elections and new labour take control again and put this town back on its feet.
More Blackburn stories
- Blackburn murderer told to pay back £18k drug profits
- Blackburn Mall footfall success
- Plaque to be replaced for Alfred Wainwright's anniversary
- Blackburn with Darwen pilot scheme to save young motorcyclists’ lives
- Blackburn community champion Joe Prest dies aged 88
- East Lancashire motorists face chaos in freezing conditions
- Fuel spill closes road between Blackburn and Preston
- Jobs in Blackburn and Burnley saved after superstore UGO is sold to Poundstretcher
- £115k ‘warm homes’ boost for Blackburn with Darwen residents
- Road works blamed for Blackburn traffic increase
‘MINDLESS VANDALISM’: The remains of the play area at Bold Venture Park, Darwen
Most popular
Local Information
Enter your postcode, town or place name
happycyclist says...
6:35pm Sun 5 Sep 10
Meanwhile, the rest of us, ie council taxpayers, worked out who it was costing years ago...
And do you know why passers-by don't get involved? Come on, think hard.
THAT'S RIGHT!!!! -it's because the passers-by then end up getting the hassle and aren't supported by the police or any of the other authorities.
Let the playground burn or suffer reprisals... it's a complete no-brainer.
Tough on crime, tough on the causzzzzzzz.....