Betws Park has been hit by what locals are describing as ‘mindless vandalism’ after a mature tree was cut down and flower beds destroyed.
The attacks took place yesterday evening (Monday).
“This sort of behaviour is totally unacceptable,” said local councillor Ted Williams.
“So much time and effort has been put into this park by all the volunteers who meet here every weekend and during the week and now to see this sort of behaviour taking place is extremely disappointing.”
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The Friends of Betws are currently involved in a major landscaping project which involves careful planting and pruning work and general maintenance of the entire parkland area.
"When we see all the inroads that are being made to the park but then discover a beautiful tree such as this wantonly pulled down, it's very sad.
"It's impossible to replace it as it's been standing there for a long time. All we can do is limit the damage as much as possible and hope it will surivive."
The problem is being made significantly worse by the fact that the park is being used as a race track by youths on E-scooters as well as a child’s motorbike.
“They race up and down the pathways and grass at very high speeds which is posing a real danger to all the young children who come into the park to play on the lawns,” continued Cllr Williams.
“And then there’s the additional problem of open drug dealing which appears to be taking place around the Memorial Garden.”
Now Cllr Williams is urging people to be extra vigilant and report any anti-social behaviour to the police.
“A few weeks ago the police carried out regular patrols of the park and as a result, the problem seemed to improve considerably," he said.
"But now that the police patrols have stopped, the anti-social behaviour has resumed once again.
"We don’t want to have to start locking the gates of the park as this will be unfair to all the people who enjoy using it for recreational purposes, but if this sort of behaviour carries on, we won’t have an alternative option.”
Any anti-social issues should be reported to 101 while vandalism and drugs-related matters should be reported to 999.
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