Vandals attack village playing field just hours after it was repaired

Previously yobs had targeted the children's play area outside Hanwood Village Hall by smashing up part of a slide and also breaking a dugout next to the football pitch.

But just two hours after a local handyman had fixed the damage to both the dugout and the slide - at a cost of £600 to the village hall's funds - the vandals returned and broke the wooden 'tower' which forms part of the slide.

William Hanmer, a Hanwood resident and chairman of the village hall's committee, said: "We have had an issue over the years with small bits of vandalism here and there - it seemed like every other week something was broken - but this latest incident has left us all really frustrated and angry.

"The children's play area was left in a dangerous state so it had to be closed while it was repaired for a second time.

"This time the repairs were done for free by Martin Wood who had carried out the work the first time.

"He was so incensed to see all his hard work undone by these vandals that he just felt he had to carry out the repairs again but this time make them stronger than before."

Mr Hanmer added: "The village hall, football pitch and children's play area are all really well-used facilities.

"They are not just the preserve of people in Hanwood, as families come here with their children from miles around. So to see them abused and wrecked in this way makes us all very angry to say the least. We have spoken to the police but there is a limit to what they can do without any CCTV evidence."

The vandalism happened just a few weeks after Hanwood Village Hall found itself the unlikely epicentre of global media attention and headlines when retired Brazilian football star Roberto Carlos turned out for Shrewsbury pub team Bull in the Barne United which calls the pitch home for its Sunday league matches.

At the time, Mr Carlos praised this type of grassroots football community as it reminded him of when he started playing the game back home.

Members of the village hall committee are now trying to raise funds in the hope they can install more CCTV cameras outside the building to cover the 'holes' which are not currently seen by its existing security system.

They hold fundraising events throughout the year including a village fete day, cross-country fun run and bonfire night and fireworks display, while the village hall itself is also available to hire.

Mr Hanmer said these were vital just to pay for the general upkeep and maintenance of the village hall and surrounding grounds before any of this cash had to be put towards additional costs such as dealing with vandalism.

He is now hoping that a local business will lend the village hall a hand by offering to install CCTV at as low a cost as possible so the local community can continue to enjoy the children's play area without it having to be closed down again over safety issues.

"We are just a small team of dedicated volunteers who do all of this work in our own time for nothing and only ask that people support us in return so we can keep the village hall and play area open for all to use for years to come," Mr Hanmer added.