A GROUP of parents were horrified to find a new wooden castle installed in the Bryn-y-Castle children’s play park was damaged by vandals just a few days after it was installed. The castle has been left standing on a slope with two of its legs broken off, with large muddy footprints on its sides where it appears to have been kicked. The castle cost £1,000 and was purchased with money donated to the ‘Group for improvement to Knighton Playground’ by Tuffins Mid Counties Coop from their annual Churchstoke Funday.

Members of the group had worked very hard in the last couple of years raising money to get more play equipment in the park and had been involved in getting two other pieces of equipment installed. One of the group members Alice Cowell said: “I am disappointed that people would stoop so low as to damage equipment in a children's playground, especially when it had only been there a few days. This was a result of fundraising efforts by local mums, in particular Jane Jones, who worked very hard.”

Alice’s five-year-old son Sam said “I am very sad that the castle is broken”, when a few days earlier he had thanked his mum and the other mums for getting the castle and said it was his favourite thing in the play park.

The group are now hoping to find a way to repair the castle without them having to start fund raising again.