A TOWN centre park has been targeted in a 'despicable' act of theft and vandalism.

At some point over the weekend, several heavy stone slabs were stolen from Bold Venture Park in Darwen, leaving residents and councillors up in arms over the selfish actions of 'horrible' thieves.

The stones, which edge the pathways throughout the park, are believed to have been lifted with crow bars, and have left unsightly gaps in the landscape, which could result in flooding and ultimately, the obstruction of public walkways.

Deputy chair of Friends of Bold Venture Park, Julie Manton said: "The edging stones have been stolen from all around the park.

"It looks as if thieves have loosened them and taken some away, before coming back for more.

"Luckily, the police and council were able to recover a few of them that had been left stacked at the entrances but whoever has done this has got away with a lot more.

"The paths are in a terrible state anyway, and we've applied for funding to try to improve the park, but this just makes things harder for us, not to mention it's incredibly unsightly."

The thefts have been condemned by council officials, who say it's not the first instance of such brazen criminal activity to have taken place in the town.

Darwen town councillor, Dave Smith, said: "Unfortunately there's been quite a lot of thefts of stone in the area, not just from Bold Venture Park, but from people's gardens too.

"There's also been flags stolen from Belgrave Square and metal has been nicked from the entrance to Sunnyhurst Woods. It's despicable and horrible.

"We believe these thieves are operating at night and are probably using vans to transport the stone, so we'd ask people to remain vigilant and report anything suspicious to the police."