VANDALS struck at a Halesowen park ripping out a bench and throwing it into the canal and cutting through a fence.

The incident happened at Leasowes Park on Saturday (September 26) night - with wardens discovering the trail of destruction on Sunday morning.

A bench next to the no. 2 canal was ripped out of the ground and thrown into the water and the fence around Stennels Pool in the acts of mindless vandalism.

A large amount of litter was also dumped at the site.

Halesowen News:

A spokesman for the park, off Mucklow Hill, said: "It happened on Saturday night, we've no idea who did it.

"There has been an undercurrent of small acts of vandalism around the park since lockdown began.

"We've had litter, fires, people camping, gaining access to wildlife areas and damaging those.

"The number of people here using the park has been off the scale which is great because people are using their green spaces, but not all are using it in a respectful way."

The spokesman said that an army of volunteers had helped out at the park over lockdown - with people including those furloughed and children off school taking it upon themselves to help out by clearing up litter.

He said: "It's been fabulous - we are really grateful for all the help."

David Chaffey, of the Friends of the Leasowes, put out a message on Facebook from the wardens about the vandalism.

The bench has since been put back in place and the fence repaired.

Anyone who notices any damage at the park can report it to the wardens via leasowes.country@dudley.gov.uk or 01384 814642.