Vandals target community beauty spot

A LOCAL beauty spot became the target of vandalism last weekend by local youths who have been using the community play area as a drinking den.

Whitehill Community Association, which received a £54,000 grant by the National Lottery People´s Millions to redevelop Skipperstone Glen, has been left ´disheartened´ after vandals littered the park with aerosol cans and broken glass, as well as scorching the picnic tables and defacing them with graffiti.

The regeneration of the glen, which began in 2006, is part of a five year vision and action plan by the  community association to improve facilities for local residents.

It saw the installation of eight pieces of exercise equipment; four pieces for adults and four for children as well as picnic tables, a dipping pond and the installation of a safety floor worth £18,000, which has also been damaged in recent months.

Sharon Hunt, community development officer of the Whitehill Community Association, says this is the latest in a number of attacks on the area.

"This is an ongoing problem at Skipperstone Glen. The PSNI were called out two weeks ago over kids gathering and drinking. They steal the bins and set them on fire.

"The whole reason that the grant was got was because this is an area of need. There are a lot of parents in the area who are not working and can take the kids to the glen for somewhere to play or have a picnic.

"The idea was for this to be a place where the whole community could feel safe. Parents can´t even let their kids out of their prams to play because of the amount of broken glass about," she said.