Council tax payers in Keswick will have to foot the bill for two wanton acts of theft and vandalism in one of the town’s parks.
Wreckers held up work on the children’s play area in Lower Fitz Park by uprooting sleepers that had been put in place by parks staff employed by Keswick Town Council in order to create natural borders to one of the areas.
The work had involved the hire of a digger, as well as a whole day’s work by the parks staff, which they then had to repeat the following day.
Town council clerk Vivien Little described the damage as “disheartening to say the least” and added: “It’s frustrating, because we are trying to make the parks better for everyone, and all the petty vandalism sets us back.”
The second act of damage involved the theft of a map from one of the information boards used by visitors to the park. The vandals smashed the glass to get at the sign.
“While this is less damaging than what happened in the play area, it is still frustrating as repairs will have to happen, and we need to get a new sign,” said Ms Little. “All of these incidents have an impact on our budget, and ultimately what we charge the residents of Keswick for their council tax, as it does add up over time.”
She said that the police had been informed but it was unlikely that anyone will be arrested and charged as there were no witnesses and the area is not covered by CCTV.
Keswick mayor, Cllr Steve Harwood, said: “Our Keswick parks are widely regarded as the jewel in the crown of our town due to the dedicated efforts of our parks team in all weathers throughout the year.
“It is of great concern to hear that some vandalism was experienced in the children’s play area in Lower Fitz Park to improvement works being carried out to make the area safe and accessible.
“This required extra work to restore the damage. Fortunately this appears to be an isolated incident but I would urge everyone to be vigilant and respectful of the efforts made for the benefit of all park users.”
