Pity they have closed so many other public toilets in the town. Just wait for the public amenity disaster that is the Tall Ships' Races when we impress our millions of foreign and UK visitors with a vast array of chemical toilets and washing facilities. Perhaps I digress.

Before they spent £2m on the "grand refurbishment" of Ward Jackson Park a few years ago now, they were warned at a public meeting by a security consultant, a policeman and many, many other people that the fencing proposed around the park was too low and that the local youths would find it a doddle to enter the park after closing time.

"Ah, but we won't get the grant if we don't have the 'proper' Victorian style fencing", we were told.

So anyway we got the ornamental six foot fencing and as predicted the local idiots are in the park every night, that's every night for the last eight years and four months.

Vandalism all the time, lager cans every morning strewn about the place, trees set on fire, graffiti, ducks killed, noise, drugs paraphernalia, (used) condoms on benches – at least some of them are practising safe sex – mainly in my view because of a 2ft difference in the height of a fence

A huge amount of money, something like £200,000, was spent on the refurbishment on the Ward Jackson Park Fountain.

Within about six weeks of the turn on, there were problems. They tried to sort them and it was on and off like a stripper's gown for the next six months and since then? Not a peep.

In fact all the gearing, the electricals and workings of the damn thing are covered in mud, under water and rusted away never to be used or seen again.

How sad, how very, very sad, but predictable and predicted.

Owen Robinson,
Catcote Road,
Hartlepool