WRECKED
A £3,000 wooden sculpture designed by
schoolchildren at Sunnydale Park in Littleover,
has been ripped from the ground, turned over and
had graffiti scrawled across it. |
DUTY OF CARE
Even though Dalkeith High School in Midlothian, a
listed building, has been empty since 2003, the
lights are still switched on, leaving passers-by
puzzled. Unbelievably, the bulbs are being
deliberately left burning so that vandals don't
hurt themselves when they break in.
Taxpayers are being forced to foot the
electricity bill and environmentalists have
described the decision as absurd. Officials at
the council responsible for the school say they
have a "duty of care" to protect
intruders from hazards. Maintenance of the school
has cost £13,000 since its closure, with
£10,000 spent on security and £3,000 on
lighting. (Source: Daily Mail, May/07) |
SCHOOL DAMAGE
Vandals have caused damage which could
cost about £5,000 to repair after breaking into
Reigate Primary School in Mackworth. For three
nights intruders have targeted the school,
getting into a store room and boiler room, and
have smashed more than 20 windows and covered
walls and pathways with large amounts of paint.
(Source: BBC News, Aug/07) |
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VANDALS 2
Elderly
Sara Forzani, living in fear of yobs, is being taken to
court for putting up a spiked metal fence to keep the
louts out. She installed it to protect her home when her
old wooden one was torched by vandals. Mrs Forzani and
her husband Freddy found themselves living in fear of
teenage druggies and louts gathering in their street.
She said, "We have an allotment across the road from
us and at night all the teenagers gather there. They take
drugs and do what they want. I worry about something
happening and we are quite far up from the road so it is
not easy to see what is happening in our garden. After
our last fence burned down we knew we needed more
protection."
Adur District Council said the fence breached planning
regulations. The couple had earlier lost an appeal to
keep it in place. A spokesman said, "The style of
the fence is considered to be out of place on the road
and is just too tall. We have offered them assistance but
they have refused so we have no choice but to take the
matter to court." (Source: Daily Mail, Nov/07)
Vandals caused thousands of pounds damage
when they smashed 30 windows at St Francis' Church,
Mackworth. Members of the church and residents were left
to clear up the resulting mess late into the night. The
Rev John Phillips, the priest-in-charge, said, "I'm
disgusted because the community works so hard to put
activities on for the kids on this estate and then
something like this happens." He said that the cost
of repairing the damage would run into thousands of
pounds and it was money that the church could ill afford.
Members of Mackworth Estate Community Association rallied
when they heard news of the vandalism and helped to clear
up the broken glass. Paul Pegg, the association chairman
said the youths and the parents of those involved should
be brought to justice. He said, "It really saddens
me that this has happened because, over the past five
years, the people in this community have tried so hard to
give the children things to do. Parents are just letting
their children run riot and it's high time they paid for
their actions." (Source: Derby Evening Telegraph, Jul/07)
I have in the past and will continue to let
Derbyshire Constabulary know how I and other residents of
Mackworth Estate feel about the way in which they
perform, as I am sure both Inspector Andy Stokes and
Sergeant Martin Critchley will confirm. So please do not
lay all of the blame on the police for the loss of the
bus shelter on Henley Green, other agencies are involved.
None more so than the parents of these youths (male and
female), also Derby Homes, which are the managing agents
of Derby City Council's housing stock, which is
approximately 25% of the properties on Mackworth Estate,
and don't let's forget the so-called Community Watch
patrols, who just happen to drive through the state
between 4pm and 7pm and who I have only seen stopping to
call at the local fish and chip shop.
Precisely what use they are is still to be determined by
the residents of Mackworth, other than a drain on the
council tax. Derby Homes are fully aware of who the
youths are and that the majority of them live in council
properties, but they have failed, unlike other housing
agencies, to apply the legislation on nuisance
neighbours, but what do you expect when the local housing
office is run by part-time managers, and the staff work
9am to 5pm and do not live on the estate?
Furthermore both the police and Derby Homes are aware
that a number of the youths do not live in Mackworth, but
come from council-owned properties on Morley (New
Zealand), which also happens to come under the management
of the Derby Homes Mackworth office. Paul
Pegg
A security
device that warns drivers about theft and vandalism has
been wrecked just days after being put in a car park. The
£300 box sensed when drivers passed and played a
recorded message warning them to lock their cars and
remove valuables from view. Despite being mounted on a
12-foot pole 400 yards from the police station in
Honiton, East Devon, the machine was smashed open and its
battery stolen. (Source: Sunday Mirror, Feb/06)
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