CALLINGTON Town Council is urging people to report sightings of vandalism being inflicted on play equipment following a spate of anti-social behaviour in the town.

The council has CCTV footage of one incident in which a rail was broken off around the skatepark in the Saltash Road recreation ground.

Town clerk Jo Taylor said there had been other damage in St Mary’s Square and elsewhere around the town.

There are also concerns about young people congregating throughout the night on the recreation ground in recent weeks, leaving litter behind them.

Jo said: “It has got worse over the last few weeks. We have been having reports from members of the public about young people in the recreation ground off Saltash Road in the early hours of the morning, playing around. We have had rubbish left, and broken glass left and it looks like they were trying to set light to things. I don’t know why they are out there. Having looked at the CCTV, it is between 2.30am and 4.30am in the morning.  

“I don’t know whether it is the fact that youngsters doing their GCSEs have finished school now but it coincides with that. We had a youngster breaking a rail off the skatepark which was actually caught on CCTV. The police have looked at the CCTV and are investigating.

“It is disappointing. Obviously this sort of behaviour represents time and money for us and for the community because as taxpayers it is their money that is being used to fix the damage.”

Jo said council grounds staff had had to be diverted from grass cutting to deal with cleaning up equipment.

She added: “This is waste of staff time and a cost to the council which could affect the precept next year. Without people coming forward to identify these people we cannot prosecute them.”