A Perth bowling club was targeted at the weekend by vandals who left a trail of destruction.
Stones, bottles and broken glass were scattered over the South Inch Bowling Club greens and the vandals also smashed their way into the pavilion, upending tables, chairs and even the fridge.
Sprinklers were hauled out of the ground, leaving the volunteers who run the facility on behalf of the council with a major clean-up exercise.
Jim Garvie, secretary of the South Inch Bowling Club, said he was “gutted” when confronted by the damage, which he said was far from an isolated incident.
Also president of Perth and Kinross Visually Impaired Bowlers, Mr Garvie said the broken glass posed a particular hazard for this group.
“Every Tuesday I have to come and make sure there are not any broken bottles which could injure the guide dogs,” he said. “It is very demoralising for the committee and bad publicity for Perth.”
The police who attended the incident along with a scenes of crime officer said although it was not known who the culprits were, large groups of youths gathering nearby on the Inch were a particular concern.
“Groups of 60 to 80 youths gather, drinking at night. We have increased patrols to try to combat this,” said one officer.
He described the damage as “wanton vandalism” and appealed for anyone with information on the incident to contact Tayside Police on 0300 111 2222.
The South Inch greens and pavilion represent the oldest municipal bowling facility in Perth. Determined not to be beaten by the vandals, the volunteers cleared up the damage on Sunday and bowling continued in the afternoon.