RESIDENTS are demanding action after vandals again defaced a beloved community centre with paint over the weekend.

Vandals attacked the abandoned community centre in Sunnyside Park, Great Lever, over the weekend. The gang left a mess at the front of the centre, with cardboard boxes and brushes from inside the centre strewn across the yard, and paint covering the ground.

The centre has been plagued with vandalism and anti-social behaviour in recent years — the Moisant Street building was even forced to shut down last year because of vandalism on the roof, with tiles being pulled off, and has not reopened since.

Residents say they heard young people again at the centre around the time the damage appeared and are asking for building security to be improved.

Harper Green councillor Sue Haworth said: “It’s a shame a few have spoilt the area for everyone else.

“Most entry points are metal covered but there are a couple that are wood boarded up which likely need metal. The entry point is not clear though and I am worried about the roof where tiles have been removed before.

“I am asking that the outer metal fencing gets reviewed for robustness as well.”

The Bolton News reported last month that the centre would need an injection of at least £80,000 to get back up and running for groups to use as a base.

At the local area forum in September, residents were keen to know if the problems could be overcome and the centre reinstated.

But town leaders say that the problem of vandalism which partially caused the centre’s closure extends far beyond just one group of youths. They are now appealing for more help to support all young people in the Great Lever area.

Cllr Haworth added: “As councillors we have been trying to get some funded youth sessions on the park but our local budget is stretched.

“I will ask the youth charities if they could help on Thursday and Friday evenings here.

“There’s a real lack of youth activity here with the Heywood Park Centre being some distance away.”

The centre, which also boasts a skateboard park and basketball court, was previously run by former University of Bolton students Claire Counsill, John Warburton and Joanne Pickering. In March 2015 they re-opened the Sunnyside Residents Association ­— a youth club that had been closed down for 12 years — which operated out of the centre.

Previous groups to have met at the site include ‘Passport to Success’, which delivered sessions on confidence building and assertiveness, and Bolton Young Persons Housing Scheme.