Vandals target new Coronation Shelter in Leighton Buzzard over bank holiday weekend

Leighton-Linslade Town Council has been left "hugely disappointed" after its new Coronation Shelter was vandalised during the bank holiday weekend.

The damage is believed to have happened overnight between August 27 and 28 at the Parson's Close Recreation Ground site and the council is working with Bedfordshire Police and Central Bedfordshire Council to identify who is responsible.

Councillor Ray Berry, said: “It must be emphasised that this is not the first instance of damage to this relatively new feature in our town centre park.

"Whilst the windows had been graffitied and were cleaned a short time before this latest attack, we should perhaps be grateful that a window, also broken earlier, had not yet been replaced, so 'only' five panes were damaged in this latest frenzy!

"It is believed that the act took place on the evening of Saturday or the early hours of Sunday.

"The town council is working with Beds Police and CBC CCTV to establish the identities of the vandal or vandals. The bill for repairing the damage is not yet known but, as a community, we all lose; investment in other projects may well have to be either delayed, or reduced in scale to meet the repair costs.

"It is hugely disappointing that there is an absolute minority within our community who consider it acceptable to cause wanton destruction to third party property. It is hard to comprehend what satisfaction any individual or individuals would get from such an act of mindless vandalism.

"We seek to understand what services or facilities the perpetrators would need to help them to channel their anger to the benefit of the wider community; a better understanding would help us to help them.”

The LBO has contacted Bedfordshire Police for a comment.