Dismay after equipment installed by Bourne2 play at The Wellhead is vandalised

Vandals have ripped out a playground bench which will cost hundreds of pounds to replace.

The damage was caused at The Wellhead in Bourne sometime on Saturday night.

The bench was ripped out of its concrete base and a bin outside of the park has also been pulled up.

The equipment was installed by volunteers from Bourne2Play who spent four years raising money to upgrade the park for the benefit of the community.

Volunteer Lisa Copestake says they were “gutted” to discover the vandalism on Sunday morning.

She said: “We've put in a lot of hours into the park and lots of organisations have been involved so it's rally upsetting when things like this happen.

"There have been other incidents but this is the worst damage since the park was installed. It's a step too far."

Volunteers have received a quote to replace the bench which would be around £400.

The charity doesn't have the money available because it has committed to adding more surfacing at the end of this month.

Anyone who can help with sponsorship can contact enquiries@bourne2play.co.uk

Inspector Ian Martin of Bourne Police said: “The bench was funded by a charity and it was firmly concreted into the ground, but it has been hacked away causing it to splinter and rendering it unusable.

“It is going to have to be removed and replaced.

“People doing these sorts of crimes are wrecking their own community. Someone in Bourne will know who is responsible for this and we urge them to come forward for the benefit of everyone else."

Anyone with information can contact police on 101 quoting incident number 144 31/03/2019.