Anger as vandals target eco-garden

VOLUNTEER-RUN THERAPY VENUE ESTIMATES £10K OF DAMAGE DONE

- By ELLIOT JESSETT ECHO Correspondent

PEOPLE at a Kirkby charity said they are “heartbroken” after vandals smashed up its community garden.

The Eco Therapy Garden estimates the cost to repair and replace the damage, including children's play and sensory equipment, to be more than £10,000,

Volunteers arrived at the centre in Tower Hill just after midday on Thursday, November 6, and found that the children's toys had been stolen and burned on a nearby bonfire the night before.

According to representatives of the charity, doors had also been ripped off sheds, the greenhouse was smashed up and equipment had been destroyed.

Martin Drury is the project manager at The Eco Therapy Garden and said the site was targeted in the buildup to Bonfire Night.

He added: "There's been extensive vandalism within the garden and a number of things have happened.

"We have a small children's play area where all of the children's items, such as the mud kitchens, the slides, the plastic toys, and all of the things the kids on, that has all been stolen and burned.

"Just outside the garden, there's a large field where a bonfire was, so I expect all them have been burned.