Shrewsbury war memorial vandals branded 'deplorable'

The vandalism in the Dingle, the gated beauty spot at the centre of Shrewsbury's Quarry Park, was described as "deplorable" by Councillor Alan Mosley, leader of Shrewsbury Town Council.

Helen Ball, Shrewsbury Town Council's clerk, said the vandals had also climbed on top of a life-size iron horse which features as the focal point of the commemorative display set up to mark the anniversary of World War One.

She said it followed a recent trend for people to drink on the park's bandstand during the evenings and leave rubbish.

Mrs Ball said: "The Quarry warden is on duty until 7.30pm every day and for the past two or three weeks we have had a number of instances where people are congregating there after 7.30pm, drinking and making a right mess.

"Then Monday night we had an instance where someone broke into the Dingle, got on the World War One horse and damaged the World War One flower bed.

"We are asking people who use the Quarry that if there are people congregating in the Dingle after 7.30pm then call the police and they can move them on.

"It is a shame when you spend a lot of time making it look nice and there other people who do not feel the same way."

Councillor Mosley urged people who see anyone in the area to contact the police.

He said: "I hope people will keep an eye on what is a major site for the people of Shrewsbury and visitors.

"It is deplorable that this vandalism takes place and I hope people will keep an eye out to spot any suspicious activity and report it as soon as possible." Mrs Ball said the damage had resulted in more work to what is considered one of Shrewsbury's major tourist attractions.

She said: "The problem with the bed at the moment is it is designed to look like a woodland meadow so a special grass mix has been sewn so it can look like a meadow that has never been walked on. They have trampled all over it and it wrecks the look.

"Our Quarry foreman had to spend a few hours working on it to fix it and that is a couple of hours he is not spending on other beds at the Dingle."