Plea to catch vandals who damaged Leighton Buzzard’s historic Market Cross

It’s the latest in a spate of recent vandalism in the town, including the targeting of the Queen’s Coronation Shelter in Parson’s Close Rec over the recent bank holiday.

On Tuesday, a cast-iron bollard appears to have been hurled into the Market Cross enclosure, causing a large crack in the plinth.

Leighton-Linslade Town Councillor Pat Carberry said he was trying to identify whether the incident was picked up on any CCTV cameras, including those of local businesses.

He told the LBO: “As soon as we know what timeframes to look at, it will give us a better opportunity to identify those who are responsible.”

And he’s taken to social media to drum up community support.

Cllr Carberry said: “As a local councillor and a member of this community that’s just completely fed up with the level of anti-social behaviour, what I’ve been doing is using social media as a focal point, to be a contact point for people who may have information that can assist in tackling this recent spate of vandals we’ve been having.”

Of the damage to the Market Cross, he said: "It’s a cast-iron bollard. We have them up along the high street to separate parking from pavement for pedestrian safety. So they’ve uprooted that, it’s obviously quite a heavy object, and they’ve tossed it over the railing into the covered area of the market cross, but in doing so it’s hit part of the stonework, putting a significant crack that’s going to cause some of that masonry to come free.

"It’s not something that’s just easily repaired. And even repairing a monument like that, you’re taking away the original fabric of what it was. If you keep putting new stonework in, it’s no longer the market cross that was there hundreds of years.”

And Cllr Carberry is calling for local people to help identify those responsible. He said: “I have had reasonable success in identifying some of the people who’ve been doing the graffiti that’s been going on around the town.

“By putting out an appeal to social media, I’ve had people contacting me, I’ve had photographs taken from mobile phones, I’ve had names given to me and all of this we’ve been able to share with the police and assist them in identifying those responsible.”

And he added: “Everyone carries a mobile phone. Now if you witness antisocial behaviour, and you can safely do so, then what’s really useful is to try and record it.

"Because if you can get a recording and give that to the police, first of all it’s evidence of the individuals committing the act, and secondly it gives the police images that hopefully they can identify the perpetrators. So you’ve got very, very strong evidence which assists them progressing a prosecution or whatever action would be appropriate.”

Cllr Carberry is asking people to report any similar crimes to Beds Police or pass information confidentially to him via his town council webpage.

The LBO contacted Beds Police about the incident but has not yet received a response.

Last month we reported how "urgent" conservation work is due to take place on the iconic landmark, although costs "could be significant". Leighton Buzzard Townlands Trust is looking for funding for the restoration work.