VANDALS who destroyed equipment in a children’s park have sparked a debate over young people and anti-social behaviour.

A pair of rocking spring toys had to be removed by Bolton Council staff after they were ripped from the ground at Mytham Park, in Mytham Road, Little Lever, and thrown onto the grass outside.

Residents saw a group of young people in the park on the evening of Monday, March 25, around the time that the incident happened, although the identities of those involved are unknown.

Little Lever UKIP councillor Sean Hornby called the vandals “mindless idiots” and said he wants to see more done with young people to counteract a spate of anti-social behaviour in the ward.

“There’s an ongoing problem with anti-social behaviour in Little Lever,” he said.

“We could do with another public consultation with kids to see what they want. If they have ownership over things they are more likely to look after them.

“We need to ask what we can do because I accept that there’s not enough for young people to do in the area. We have got to get the youngsters on board.”

He added: “We’ve done consultations before but there’s a new generation of kids now and we need to talk to them.”

Cllr Hornby’s colleague Labour representative David Evans, said he agreed that more work needed to be done on the subject but called for a “more robust approach” and work in schools.

He said: “There’s an educational issue here. If vandals are causing that kind of damage then there’s a gap in understanding what these facilities are for.

“Maybe we need to have more intervention in schools to help people understand that they are only damaging their own community.”

He went on to say that repeat offenders should be subject to anti-social behaviour orders and intervention from the council, adding that, while enforcement options and punishments are not the first option they should be considered.

He added: “There’s no guarantee that people will go to a youth club just because it’s there.”

Council officers are looking to fund repairs at the park, to either restore the damaged equipment or replace it with something else. In 2017, the park was the site of an arson attack which burnt through items in a storage container.