Louth: Controversial seating removed after vandalism

The seating was removed after seats were ripped off and dumped down an alley

Brightly coloured wooden seating on a busy town centre road has been removed after it was vandalised for a second time within weeks of being installed.

The "parklets" were installed on Mercer Row in Louth by Lincolnshire County Council as part of a bid to get people to spend more time in the town.

But since being installed in August, the seating has been damaged twice, most recently on Wednesday night.

Officials said seats had been ripped off and dumped down an alley.

One person described the seating as resembling a "naff sunlounger" after it was installed in August

Richard Davies, executive member for highways at the authority, said: "Whoever carried out the vandalism took the seats off the unit and left them in an unsafe and obstructive way in the adjacent alleyway.

"This is the second case of vandalism that has happened to these units on Mercer Row and we will be conducting a further investigation into what has happened.

"Vandalising the units is simply unacceptable."

• 'Naff sunloungers' on busy street cause a stir

The parklets were part of the Louth Active Travel Scheme, which aimed to improve walking and cycling in the town.

But the move attracted some criticism over the introduction of traffic restrictions, with some businesses reporting a drop in trade, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Opponents have called on council leaders to meet with them to discuss their concerns.

A local councillor said it was apt the seating had been removed on the back of rubbish truck

Louth Town and East Lindsey District Councillor Andrew Leonard said: "It seems rather apt that they should be removed in the rubbish truck."

"Perhaps if the aforementioned councillors dared to face the public in the town, this seating would have gone by now," he added.

However, Mr Davies said it was "a real shame" people would not now be able to make use of the seating "until we have been able to investigate the level of damage caused".