Vandals target park's fruit trees

Fruit trees that children helped to plant in a popular community park three years ago have been damaged by vandals.

About half the trees in the orchard at Barnby Road Community Park, Newark, have been snapped.

Marion Fox Goddard, of the park’s friends group, said the trees were planted as part of improvements to the area so they were disappointed to see the damage.

“We have had the odd branch snapped off, but this is the worst it has been,” she said. “It is very disappointing.”

Mr Chris Tall, whose daughter, Charlotte, was involved with the original planting, said she was cross when she found out what happened.

“It is terrible,” he said. “It is such a shame.”

A team of 20 children and adults took part in a tidy-up in the park organised as part of the Keep Britain Tidy spring clean.

They spent about 45 minutes collecting rubbish and filled four large bags mainly full of drink cans and crisp packets.

The park has been improved with new goal posts, monkey bars, larger swings, leap frogs and a spinner paid for with a £10,000 grant from the National Lottery Awards For All and money from Newark Town Council.