A sensory garden for children with special needs has been vandalised, just a week after it was completed
Six hard years of fundraising went into getting the £50,000 needed for the play area and its specialised equipment at Stepping Stones nursery, based at the Wilson Marriage Centre, Colchester.
But a few minutes of late-night wanton destruction left it with a ruined interactive water fountain, windows broken in the play hut, the safety net taken and damaged from the specialised trampoline and flower pots broken and the pieces strewn around.
Carol Nice, co-ordinator of the nursery where half the 70 children have special needs, said: "A lot of parents have spent a lot of time fundraising and a lot of weekends working to provide the garden.
"There are also notices up everywhere telling people it is a garden designed for children with special needs.
"What has happened is just senseless," she said.
"We did look into the possibility of a security fence around the garden, which would make it difficult for anyone to get in, but it would cost £10,000 to install.
"We just do not have that sort of money."
Police, who had helped raise money for the play area, have been informed of the incident.
Published Wednesday, June 18, 2003
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article