Vandals leave trail of damage at Donington's Flinders Park

Vandals left a tree was snapped in two, ripped shrubs out of the ground and smashed beer bottles on a footpath at Flinders Park over consecutive weekends in Donington.

Flinders Park is managed by IDEA (Improving the Donington Environment For All) whose committee has had to deal with repeated reports of vandalism over the past five years, including damage to trees in 2011 and blue paint splattered over the bandstand in 2014.

Speaking about the latest incident, a volunteer who asked not be named said: “I was in Flinders Park the Sunday before last and heard some people near the water course, making a lot of noise.

“When I went into the park the following morning, I found that a young but well-established tree had been completely destroyed and the trunk left completely smashed in two.

“Before this, there have been shrubs damaged in recent weeks and I’ve seen trees with their branches broken.

“But this has topped it all and we’re looking to get another CCTV camera in place so that we can see what’s going on at the back of the park.”

IDEA committee member and Donington district councillor Jane King said: “The group is very disappointed that some people think it’s a very good plan to destroy trees and shrubs that have been planted in the park for the enjoyment of everyone.

“The park is maintained by volunteers and a lot of hard work goes into trying to provide a very pleasant area for all to enjoy.

“We have been trying to get some more picnic tables for the play park but have been reluctant to spend over £2,000 in case these new ones end up suffering the same fate as the last ones in being damaged, ripped out and dumped into a dyke.

“I think we are very lucky in Donington that there is a very pleasant park and skate park for all to enjoy as there are lots of villages that don’t have this.

“We are having another fundraising event, a summer fair, on June 5 and all monies raised will go towards the upkeep of the park.

“It would be so nice if we could add new things to the park with the money raised, instead of having to replace stuff that’s been mindlessly damaged and we are now pushing the police to prosecute anyone caught vandalising and damaging property.”

Anyone with information should call Spalding Police Station on 101 and ask for PCSO Colin Abbotts.

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