PARK users have expressed outrage at destruction caused by an off road vehicle which left a Bolton playing field disfigured by track marks and churned-up grass.

It is believed the damage at Barlow Park, near the Oldhams estate, Astley Bridge, took place on Friday night.

On Saturday morning, regular users of the park said they were upset at the ‘selfish and moronic’ actions which left dislodged turf and unsightly ridges of mud across the top field of the park, close to Thornleigh Salesian College.

The damage also affected the football pitch used by Moss Bank Junior FC, which is currently out of use due to pandemic restrictions.

John Billing, 62, who lives on the estate, regularly walks through Barlow Park.

He said: “This makes me so angry. Big sections of turf have been gouged up and there are muddy track marks all over the place.

“They’re just selfish, self-obsessed morons. The ground’s way too soft not to damage the grass with these types of vehicles.

“I hope they bloody well fall off the thing.”

RNC Security, which provide private security patrols in Bolton, said they had seen an off-road buggy being driven suspiciously, around a mile away, on Friday night.

They tweeted: “One of our patrols was overtaken, at speed, by a off-road buggy on Tonge Moor Road at approximately 6.45pm on Friday.

“Looking at the track marks, this may have been the same vehicle.

“We hate to see this type of behaviour.”

Another person claimed to have seen a similar vehicle driving noisily in nearby Bromley Cross shortly before that.

Officials from Moss Bank JFC also said that that they would visit the park to see how much damage had been done to their pitch surface.