Vandals have again come under fire for their latest attacks at a Kirriemuir beauty spot.
They have been criticised for “desecrating” a shelter built by a famous town family and for undoing the good work of dedicated volunteers who have restored the Camera Obscura to its proud place on the local tourist map.
The Hill has regularly been hit by vandals in recent years, with stone dykes damaged, fires set and graffiti daubed over buildings.
The area includes the shelter built to commemorate James Wilkie, a member of the well-known local business family that was to lose two brothers serving in the 5th Battalion of The Black Watch during the First World War.
“We’re continually having to carry out repairs to Wilkie’s shelter because of people trying to tear off slates or covering the memorial plaque with graffiti, and it’s just not on,” said Kirrie councillor Ronnie Proctor.
“There’s a lot of history to this old shelter. It was a favourite place for courting couples visiting The Hill and it’s part of all the stuff up there for visitors to enjoy, like the Camera Obscura and the Peter Pan playpark.
“Maybe if some of the youngsters who are doing this sort of thing were aware of why the shelter was put up they might not be so keen on desecrating the memory of this prominent Kirrie family and vandalising it in the future.”
Mr Proctor is also furious vandals have found time to graffiti the toilets at the Barrie pavilion, which houses the Camera Obscura.
That has come just a few months after volunteers from Kirriemuir Regeneration Group got the attraction back up and running.
He added: “The volunteers at the Camera Obscura have put a lot of work into it, so it’s really quite sad that this has happened so soon.
“It’s not nice to see this happening in the town and the other point is that money which has to be spent on repairing damage is then not available to spend on other things.”