An Angus councillor has hit out at vandals targeting Keptie Pond in Arbroath, claiming they should be “downright ashamed of themselves.”
Either petrol or diesel has been spread along the path beside the Water Tower and a large sheet of plywood was thrown into the pond alongside logs, tree trunks, rubbish and a council litter bin.
Arbroath councillor Peter Nield said he was shocked by the state of the popular beauty spot when taking his grandson to feed the ducks.
He said the damage had not been caused by the high winds of last week and must have been done deliberately.
“These mindless individuals have no respect for wildlife, property or the town,” he said. “Someone must know who has done this but, like all vandals, I bet they are too cowardly to come forward.
“It is about time these idiots got a kick up the backside from the courts, that are properly empowered to make them make reparation and clean the whole pond out.”AlgaeKeptie Pond is in line for £45,000 worth of common good funding for a water flow system that will stop green algae collecting on the surface of the water. There have also been murmurings from within the council that the site could be in line to get new play equipment.
Mr Nield urged anyone who witnesses vandalism in the area to report it to the police, and added, “Am I put off spending money on bringing the pond back to life? No.
“Keptie Pond is an asset to Arbroath and I will not let vandals and idiots spoil this facility for the decent law-abiding citizens of Arbroath.
“Only last week I was able to report the unanimous support for the work to be carried out on Keptie Pond and, not a week later, the vandals have been at it, spoiling one of Arbroath’s beauty spots. This pollution endangers wildlife and is downright unacceptable behaviour.”
The vandalism has been reported the local authority and the police have been made aware of the incident.DismayedSergeant Ally Robertson, in charge of policing in Arbroath, said, “These latest incidents have not been reported to us yet. However, we are obviously dismayed to see such wanton damage to such a lovely area.
“I will ensure that the area is given police attention and we will also have our mobile CCTV van deployed there this week. I would encourage local residents to report any anti-social behaviour or suspicious activity to us in order that we can deal with it swiftly.”
Arbroath councillor David Fairweather said, “I sometimes wonder why we go to all this bother and spend all this money to upgrade the pond when we get irresponsible people just thinking they can fly-tip there when there is a dump just quarter of a mile away.
“This is not only damaging to the way the area looks but is dangerous to the wildlife there and the ducks could be trapped and killed by some of the items that have been thrown in.
“It is totally unacceptable and if people don’t want to contact the police directly, they can come to me and I will pass the information on.”