Playground vandals carve abusive message in grass

Vandals smeared a children's playground with mud, dug several holes and carved an offensive message into a nearby area of grass, a council in Cumbria has said.

Wigton Town Council said its staff had now filled in a 6ft (1.8m) deep hole that appeared last weekend at Wigton Park's BMX track.

An abusive message aimed at the local authority was carved into an area of grass on Tuesday, while several pieces of equipment in the children's playground were covered in mud.

Cumbria Police said it had received a report of criminal damage between 21 and 24 June, which included fences being knocked down and holes being dug.

Wigton Park, located on the Greenacres housing estate, was established in 1923 as a public recreation space.

The council said there had been a BMX track there since the 1980s.

Over the weekend of 21 and 22 June, the council said a series of holes had appeared - including the deep one - while parts of a fence were removed.

The council said this "raised serious health and safety concerns" so the hole was filled in on Monday.

Along with the damage to the playground, which happened on Tuesday night, the council said there was "evidence of trees being pulled out and knocked over in nearby Phoenix Park".