Council chiefs vow to track down vandals who targeted Hartlepool park which is undergoing £550,000 renovation

Council chiefs have vowed to track down on vandals who caused damage to a Hartlepool park which is currently undergoing improvement works totalling more than £500,000.
New plant beds were ripped out at Rossmere Park in Hartlepool.New plant beds were ripped out at Rossmere Park in Hartlepool.
New plant beds were ripped out at Rossmere Park in Hartlepool.

Hartlepool Borough Council is in the process of making £550,000 of improvements to Rossmere Park in the town, including the creation of a new toddler play area, a junior play area with facilities including a Sutu interactive ball wall, a covered events area in the centre of the park and a car park.

However, over the past few days youths have damaged the new Sutu wall by throwing stones and bricks at it.

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New plants were pulled out and seeded areas were damaged by being walked and cycled over and a large amount of litter – including empty energy drink cans and sweet wrappers – was strewn around the park.

Bosses are now calling on the public to help catch those responsible by reporting the vandalism at the earliest opportunity.

Tony Hanson, the council’s assistant director (Environment and Neighbourhood Services), said: “This is appalling - a small minority are trying to spoil things for everyone else.

“Several years of work went into planning this project and obtaining grant funding for it and we won’t let these hooligans wreck things.

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“We will track down and take action against the culprits. We will be sharing our CCTV footage with the Police and together with the Police we’re following up eyewitness information and descriptions of the culprits and stepping up patrols in the area.

“If anyone has any information, I would urge them to please report it, in confidence, to the Hartlepool Community Safety Team or the Police.

"With the help of local residents, we can stop these vandals spoiling the park for everyone else.”

The Hartlepool Community Safety Team can be contacted on 01429 523100 or email [email protected] and Cleveland Police can be contacted by calling 101.