Vandals ruin Boston park's diamond jubilee fountain
VANDALISM has forced the Queen's diamond jubilee fountain in Boston's Central Park to be removed just days after it was switched-on.
Officially unveiled during the Jubilee Big Picnic on Bank Holiday Monday, the fountain, which cost £1,098, was meant to be the town's lasting tribute to the Monarch.
But it has had to be taken away after becoming unsafe thanks to what officials say was the latest incident in a "daily catalogue of mindless vandalism" at the park.
Two girls, aged about 13, were seen climbing onto the upper two tiers of the fountain last Wednesday.
bcs ltd
Contact: 01522 705130
Valid until: Saturday, August 31 2013
They rocked backwards and forwards until the mortared joints broke and the fountain became unstable.
Even before this the fountain had already suffered cosmetic damage after stones were thrown at it and the water had been muddied by clods of earth being pelted into it.
Now an appeal has been issued for help in catching the culprits and for the public to assist in the park's future protection.
Boston Borough Council's portfolio holder for parks and open spaces Yvonne Gunter told the Target: "The parks staff have done their very best to prevent this but they cannot be everywhere all the time.
"They all work really hard to keep the park as nice as it can be and are proud of it, but their spirits are down because of the destructive actions of a few.
"It saddens me that someone would want to damage the fountain which was there for people to enjoy and remind them of our Queen's Diamond Jubilee."
Councillor Gunter urged anyone with information about damage to the fountain or other vandalism in the park to contact the police.
She revealed information had already been received from two witnesses and CCTV footage is now being checked.
The council says consideration will be given to a more secure location where the fountain can be re-erected while its former site will be occupied by some other lasting tribute to the Queen.
Comments
by 917199
Thursday, June 14 2012, 7:54AM
“maybe if they spent 1093 quid on upgrading the parks swings and slides, they wouldnt feel the need to hang around on the fountain, that was clearly a rip off....”
by Gnome_Chomsky
Wednesday, June 13 2012, 9:12PM
“The second photo is good but, no matter how much I stare and squint, I can't see the 'before' part of the image.”
by mushroom77
Wednesday, June 13 2012, 8:19PM
“http://tinyurl.com/38j4r2”
by theover60s
Wednesday, June 13 2012, 4:33PM
“tom whimpole, you sound like a grotty little man, get a life, you grot.”
by Tom_Whimpole
Wednesday, June 13 2012, 3:54PM
“It looked like quite a grotty little fountain in the middle of some grotty looking wooden trellis. No great loss, but still a shame kids played on it and it broke. I think we need to assess whether the kids involved meant to damage it or we're just having fun. Either way, it wasn't very robust was it?”
by vendetta2011
Wednesday, June 13 2012, 3:39PM
“Culture is wasted on some people”
by Chas24
Wednesday, June 13 2012, 12:58PM
“For mushroom77 one word 'oik'.”
by MavisEnderby
Wednesday, June 13 2012, 11:32AM
“Hope these delinquent scum are identified. Of course because of their estimated age, any punishment will be trivial.
A total lack of respect for other people and property is so prevalent from an early age now. It saddens and angers me. There are many good young people out there, but we rarely hear their stories.
The legal system seems to have a mamby-pamby attitude to these low life. I wonder what the juvenile crime/vadalism rate was when the birch was administered ?”
by loltard
Wednesday, June 13 2012, 9:46AM
“lol its boston wot do u expect lol”