Damage to gardens' gates 'heartbreaking'

Severe damage caused to the gates of an historic riverside garden is "heartbreaking", a councillor has said.

The oak replica gates at Caversham Court Gardens, which lie next to the River Thames in Reading, were broken after a car crashed through them on 23 October.

The site is Grade II listed and was bought by the Reading Corporation in 1931, which demolished its original house, and opened its gardens as a public park in 1934.

Councillor Adele Barnett-Ward, leisure and culture boss, said the replica gates will be assessed by a structural engineer on Thursday.

The council-owned gardens was renovated, in part using Heritage Lottery Fund money, and reopened in August 2009.

"It's heartbreaking. I remember when the gardens were reopened after the lottery funding [was spent] and it was wonderful to have them restored to their former glory. To see the gates like that is really sad," Barnett-Ward said.

"They are replica gates thankfully so they aren't hundreds of years old. They're from 2009 so they shouldn't be too difficult to replicate but we are not sure yet to the full extent of the damage caused by the collision.

"I'm relieved no one was injured and for the driver we should be pleased they hit the gates rather than square into the wall because it might have been a different story."