Stephen Aylen, councillor for Belfairs Ward, confirmed one of the towers in the Belfairs Park play area in Leigh has been left “extremely” unsafe after it was the subject of a reported arson.
The area has been fenced off this week to block it from being used and Mr Aylen has reassured families the remaining parts of the play area are available for use.
Stephen Aylen (Image: Stephen Aylen)
He added the slide near the tower had been left melted with “sharp metal bits” sticking out, and the council hopes to carry out repairs “as soon as possible.”
Mr Aylen said: “From what I understand, the perpetrators apparently had three goes at setting light to one of the main towers.
“Barriers were put up as it had been made extremely dangerous. They finished off making it safe by boarding it up on Tuesday
“The repairs will cost between £10,000 and £15,000. It’s such a shame because it’s such a nice place for the children, it’s such a nice area for them to enjoy.
“They really love it and to have it vandalised like that is tragic. Whoever has done it is absolutely mindless, and I bet the people who set light to it enjoyed it when they were younger.
The damage – Belfairs Park in Leigh (Image: Stephen Aylen)“It looked like something similar to petrol had been used to burn it. You need something similar to that to burn something like that. It’s extensively burnt.
“This will be a major rebuild and the entire site will have to be closed for a couple of weeks when we have to repair it.”
According to Mr Aylen, the incident took place on Christmas Eve.
He encouraged families to continue to use the play area which is now “safe to use.”
The councillor confirmed the type of wood used for the structure is “specialist”, which will likely have to come from the manufacturer of the play area.
Mr Aylen added he would like to see those who carried out the reported attack “brought to justice.”
He said: “I believe they will be found by police, and I hope they are brought to justice. They need to be, this is a thing for children, it took a lot of hard work to get it.”