A Dundee charity says it could face a £1,000 bill after vandals went on a wrecking spree at a community garden.
A marquee was slashed and racist graffiti scrawled at Victoria Gardens on Blackness Road.
The gardens are run by Yusuf Youth Initiative (YYI), providing a sustainable source of fruit and vegetables for the community while also helping with people’s wellbeing.
The vandalism is thought to have happened between Saturday and Monday afternoon.
Project manager Isa Mallick said: “It is demoralising to see what has happened.
“It is a project which is used by many members of the wider community.
“We believe this has happened sometime between Saturday at 3pm and Monday at around 4pm.
“When we came back in the marquee had been slashed with a compost turner and garden chairs had been launched on to the roof.
Racial slur written on noticeboard
“There was a racial slur written on the noticeboard as well. Thankfully there was no damage to the garden or the main office.
“It’s hard to tell how many people have been in here and done this but it is just mindless vandalism.
“The compost turner they used to slash the marquee was also on the roof.
“Given the volume of chairs that was thrown and the fact it was slashed both on the inside and the outside, we reckon the roof will need replaced.”
Isa says it is estimated that the damage could cost up to £1,000 to repair.
He added: “It is financially detrimental to the charity to have to deal with incidents like this and we’ll need to dismantle this section.
“We were scheduled to be running some October projects but thankfully they had been cancelled prior to this happening.
“I contacted Police Scotland on Tuesday morning and officers will be coming out on Friday.
“This is by far the worst incident of vandalism we have encountered since setting up the community garden.”
‘Disgusting crime’
West End Councillor Richard McCready slammed those responsible before adding there was “no place” for racist graffiti in Dundee.
He added: “Victoria Gardens gives a great space for the community in the West End. It is disgraceful that this important resource has been vandalised.
“Racist graffiti has no place in our city.
“I have visited the gardens a few times in recent weeks and been impressed with the fantastic work being done there with the whole community.
“I will be contacting Victoria Gardens and YYI to show my support and I will also contact the local police to ensure that action is taken to find those responsible for this disgusting crime.”
A spokesman for Police Scotland said: “Officers are investigating a report of vandalism at Victoria Gardens on Blackness Road in Dundee which is believed to have occurred between 3pm on Saturday and 4pm on Monday.”