Security has been stepped up after a spate of vandalism incidents in Burnham-On-Sea’s Marine Cove seafront gardens.
Over the weekend, several paving stones were pulled up, signs promoting social distancing were damaged, and the roof of one of the shelters was also damaged.
Local resident Dave Ilsley, pictured with friend Alan Clayton in the gardens, told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “It’s disgraceful to see these lovely gardens being damaged – they are a treasured facility in Burnham for many people.”
“The problems have been going on for several weeks when large groups of people gather in the shelters at night. I have found bottles smashed in the shelters, the coping stones pulled up, signs damaged, and litter left behind.”
“It’s absolute madness, with underage drinking, pot smoking, and smashed glass bottles on paving slabs, endangering children and dogs. Not content with that lot, they are now removing coping slabs from the walls and flinging them in the pond. I would just ask people to show some respect.”
Sedgemoor District Council spokeswoman Claire Faun said: “We have also alerted our CCTV and anti-social behaviour prevention team for increased surveillance. One of our Parks team was at Marine Cove on Saturday and spotted some damage and we have got our maintenance people on to that.”
Police were called to the seafront gardens over the weekend by concerned local residents and they intend to step up patrols.
