As Councillors of the Findern Parish Council we were saddened and shocked to hear about the graffiti on the Hillside Playing Field Play Area.

There has been a lot of effort, time and money spent on the refurbishment of the play area making it a place for all of the community to enjoy. Unfortunately there seems to be a minority out there who take pleasure spoiling things for the majority.

We would like to thank Heather from the Footpaths Group who went to the Playing Field straight away and attempted to clean the damaged play equipment which included the Train, Climbing Frame with Slide and the Play Area sign. Some of the play equipment is still marked by the spray paint which is most unfortunate.

We are not here to name and shame people but if anyone has any information regarding this act of vandalism then please contact us or the Police. We have a duty to the residents of Findern as your Parish Council and we will not tolerate this kind of behaviour. The perpetrators obviously have no problem damaging public property.

Every time something in the village is deliberately damaged; be it play equipment, a bus shelter or bins etc. the cost to repair or replace has to be met by the Parish Council. This cost comes out of our budget which indirectly means of course that you as Parishioners are also paying for it as a small amount of your Council Tax goes directly to the Parish Council. The money we have to spend on repairs or replacements could be put to better use helping to enhance the village and the community.