EXTRA police patrols are to descend on a park in a bid to stop vandals and cannabis smokers taking advantage of the warmer weather.

New CCTV cameras, connected directly to Blackburn’s Greenbank Police Station, will also now monitor people visit-ing the town’s Corporation Park.

More people are using the Victorian park as the weather improves and police say they are determined to ensure everybody can enjoy its beauty.

Officers will be making increased patrols of the park through the Easter period, following a rise in incidents of vandal-ism, drug use and anti-social behaviour.

The CCTV cameras will focus on the park’s conservatory, which has been a particular target for criminal damage.

PC Gary Hennighan, community beat mana-ger for Revidge and Corporation Park, said: “The vast majority of park users are well behaved but, unfortun-ately, there is a small minority who think it is a place to get drunk, or smoke cannabis, and act like idiots.

“Positive action will be taken against anyone who believes it is alright to break the law and ruin the good atmos-phere in the park.

“I encourage anybody who witnesses any poor behaviour to contact police so we can stamp it out. Corporation Park is not the place to mess about this summer.”

Police have been work-ing closely with park wardens in recent mon-ths to try and stamp out bad behaviour in the park. This has resulted in several people being punished for possession of cannabis, and fines handed out for minor incidents of damage.

If you wish to report any incidents in the park, please call Black-burn Police on 0845 1 25 35 45, or contact the Northwest Neighbour-hood Policing Team on 01254 581175.