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Darwen pupils devastated after yobs ruin school garden
5:20pm Thursday 19th November 2009
PUPILS have been left devastated after yobs ruined the school garden they had spent a year creating.
Artwork, bird boxes and painted signs were stolen from the Enchanted Garden at Ashleigh Primary School in Ross Street, Darwen, and the padlocked wooden gate was ripped from its hinges and thrown onto the playground.
Headteacher Christine Henderson said that the 226 pupils at the school were ‘horrified’ at the attack.
She said: “They are really, really upset about this. It’s mindless.
“It’s such a shame that all their hard work over the last 12 months has been ruined.
“We don’t get a lot of vandalism, and this is what has shocked everybody more.
“Because the houses around here are quite far away, nobody has seen anything so we don’t know yet who is responsible.”
The garden, at the back of the school, was opened earlier in the year as part of the Government scheme Creative Partnerships.
It aims to help children develop skills by linking up with professionals such as artists, performers and scientists.
Artist Sean Creagh has been working with the children to create a montage of images and plans for the garden, as well as creating pottery gnomes, art installations, a performance area, a bog area, and places to plant trees and wild flowers.
Year 5 pupil Brandon Esler, nine, said: “We feel really, really angry about this.
“We spent all our time doing it and lots of money.”
Oscar Cosgrove, also nine, said: “We have all felt sad since we found out. We worked so hard to make it look nice and now it’s all gone.”
Teachers at the school discovered the attack on Monday morning and suspect that it occured during the weekend.
They hope to rebuild the garden as soon as possible with money from the school budget, but at the moment have no idea how much it will cost.
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Your Say YourLancashire
Little Diamond, Darwen says...
7:26pm Thu 19 Nov 09
It will never happen but it would be nice if the police investigated this crime properly and caught the culprits. And then the magistrates gave out a severe punishment to the kids and their parents, to act as a deterent to others. There was a playground seriously damaged at a special school recently, £50,000 of damage I think. I wonder how the investigation is going?
To Bat E Bird I'm tempted to say get a life but perhaps Paul Cockerton could tell us why there are so many odd gramatical errors on this site?
Davidoff, n/a says...
8:48pm Thu 19 Nov 09
They have no shame, they just want to wreck, smash, destroy. Bet they can't tell you when you ask them 'why?'.
“Because the houses around here are quite far away, nobody has seen anything so we don’t know yet who is responsible.”
You know. Anyone could/would swear such occurrances in Darwen are infrequent given that remark but glad to see they have now witnessed what is but a stonesthrow from them in the rest of the town. One walk round the shopping centre at the kids who have learned to speak every other word from the age of 2 starting with 'f-this' and 'f-that'.
As for the ones who did this attrocious act. Having seen a piece of effluent today kick a football (a 'mature' person with the maturity of a 3 year old) against the side of a bus as it passed them by. I had to ask myself 'Why? Why do this?' Is is something a normal person would be doing? Seems such things are common around town, though. Personally, I think anyone who does the damage as described above needs to be put into psychiatric care. Because destroying things for the sake of it really isn't anything you'd call 'civilized'.
But if they had the brain capacity to understand right from wrong - which they clearly don't because they are far too ignorant/arrogant to begin to understand how to behave properly - then they wouldn't do it. So the question is: why don't they know it's wrong? Who is to blame? Not me, not you - but how they were parented! Trouble is the rest of society has to 'tolerate it'. Bring back stocks, publicly humiliate the little tossers.
Every flipping day it's 'vandalism this, rocks on train lines, stones thrown at the emergency services'.
Even more terrifying is that these people will breed more of the same. God help the future of the human race!
The only way to stop this kind of thing is to give a short, sharp shock punishment to ensure the scum don't do it again.
bossindian, Darwen says...
9:02pm Thu 19 Nov 09
Roy Drage, Darwen says...
12:24pm Fri 20 Nov 09
broken_britain, says...
3:26pm Fri 20 Nov 09
broken_britain, says...
3:40pm Fri 20 Nov 09
amazed, Darwen says...
5:36pm Fri 20 Nov 09
"Archaea", Down House says...
9:49pm Fri 20 Nov 09
Although a substantial amount of people will agree with your sadistic comment, always remember that all the horrific violence that has occurred in the past has never solved a thing. The carnage of WW1 didn’t prevent WW2. Corporal punishment would perhaps defer a person from committing a crime but it will never deter it.
friendsofashleigh pta, darwen says...
4:09am Sat 21 Nov 09
amazed, Darwen says...
7:08pm Sat 21 Nov 09
"Archaea", Down House says...
12:29am Sun 22 Nov 09
I think that we all realise that this type of senseless vandalism has been around for years and years. If the authorities had the answer to the problem I’m quite sure that it would have been implemented ages ago. We’ve tried capital punishment for murder and that didn’t work. We’ve tried corporal punishment for lesser demeanours and that hasn’t worked. I’m at a loss just like the rest of you. I wish that there was a simple solution to the problem but obviously there isn’t. Looking on the bright side, there could be a glittering career in law enforcement for the first person to supply the answer.
amazed, Darwen says...
3:59pm Mon 23 Nov 09
I'll tell you what, when (or if) they catch the culprits, put them in the one of the armed forces. The army preferably and give them some "Colchester type" punishment. If you go in that establishment you never stop running for starters. Is it right to take your attitude which smacks of "we can't do anything"?
There may not be a perfect answer but give them some aggro and it might rub off. Discipline never harmed anybody.
"Archaea", Down House says...
10:44pm Mon 23 Nov 09
Now you’re talking, rigorously enforced discipline. Closely observing rules, principles and practices. Given time it just might work.
amazed, Darwen says...
12:15pm Tue 24 Nov 09
At last we have reached a conclusion!! I can just imagine some of the layabouts at Darwen Circus in army dress with a rifle over their heads and running around the barrack square - bliss!!
"Archaea", Down House says...
5:22pm Tue 24 Nov 09
Come on lad don’t get carried away. Entrusting that lot with a firearm is pushing the boat out a little bit too far. Don’t you think?
amazed, Darwen says...
8:58pm Fri 27 Nov 09
Don't worry - they would not have access to any ammunition and with a drill sergeant shouting "You miserable little......" the culprit would not have strength to fire it even if there was!!
BIG UPSET: Ashleigh pupils Andrew Taylor, nine, and Megan Flannaghan, seven, in what is left of the vandalised exhibition garden which pupils had spent a year creating
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True Darwener, Darwen says...
6:23pm Thu 19 Nov 09