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£178,000 playground vandalised before it’s even opened

The opening of a brand new play park in Halewood has been delayed after it was significantly vandalised, with every piece of new equipment damaged.Repairing the play area in Finch Woods is expected to cost thousands of pounds, and families living nearby will now have to wait longer before they can enjoy the new facilities. The new park, which cost ?178,000, should have opened this week. Unfortunately, the extensive vandalism was discovered, with every piece of equipment spray painted, trees damaged and the new safety surfacing partially destroyed. The site was also left strewn with litter. Now Knowsley Council Leader Graham Morgan is appealing for anyone with information to contact police. He said: ?I would ask everyone in the local community for their support. If you know anything about this please get in touch. Maybe you have spotted blue or yellow spray paints on clothes or hands or maybe you saw something over the weekend. Any information is important and will be treated confidentially. ?We will work round the clock to get this park repaired and open for the local community to enjoy. But need to find those responsible and do all we can to ensure this kind of mindless vandalism doesn?t happen again.?Together ? we need to do all we can to weed out this kind of behaviour and ensure community facilities can be enjoyed ? not destroyed.?
The new playground renovation came at a hefty price but is now delayed (Picture: Knowsley Council)

A play park in Knowsley, Merseyside, has been damaged before it even opened, causing thousands of pounds in damage.

The Finch Woods play park was the target of what council leader Graham Morgan called ‘mindless vandalism’.

The new park was set to open soon, allowing families to enjoy the pak before school starts again – but now, it’s unclear when the facility will be able to operate.

‘There is absolutely no reasoning behind this kind of mindless behaviour, but the impact is significant,’ Morgan told the BBC.

‘The cost to repair the equipment, remove the paint and assess any safety implications or wider damage will run into thousands of pounds.’

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Photos show blue and yellow spray paint on the new playset, on the turf, and surrounding trees were also damaged.

The opening of a brand new play park in Halewood has been delayed after it was significantly vandalised, with every piece of new equipment damaged. Repairing the play area in Finch Woods is expected to cost thousands of pounds, and families living nearby will now have to wait longer before they can enjoy the new facilities. The new park, which cost ?178,000, should have opened this week. Unfortunately, the extensive vandalism was discovered, with every piece of equipment spray painted, trees damaged and the new safety surfacing partially destroyed. The site was also left strewn with litter. Now Knowsley Council Leader Graham Morgan is appealing for anyone with information to contact police. He said: ?I would ask everyone in the local community for their support. If you know anything about this please get in touch. Maybe you have spotted blue or yellow spray paints on clothes or hands or maybe you saw something over the weekend. Any information is important and will be treated confidentially. ?We will work round the clock to get this park repaired and open for the local community to enjoy. But need to find those responsible and do all we can to ensure this kind of mindless vandalism doesn?t happen again. ?Together ? we need to do all we can to weed out this kind of behaviour and ensure community facilities can be enjoyed ? not destroyed.?
The rubbish bins were also covered in paint (Picture: Knowsley Council)

Merseyside Police is reviewing CCTV footage to find the perpetrators, and anyone with information has been asked to contact the force.

Morgan added: ‘We will work round the clock to get this park repaired and open for the local community to enjoy.

‘We need to find those responsible and do all we can to ensure this kind of mindless vandalism doesn’t happen again.’

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