Skatepark vandalism branded as 'completely unacceptable'

Vandalism at a £250,000 skatepark in Bradford on Avon has been branded as “completely unacceptable” by the mayor.

Graffiti was sprayed on the skatepark overnight between Sunday, June 30 and Monday, July 1, and part of a wire fence and gravel were thrown into the area where people skate.

Town council wardens were forced to go out on Monday morning to clean up the mess at the skate park in Poulton Park.

Some of the graffiti consisted of crude images of a part of the male anatomy, while others included part of the Trowbridge BA14 postcode.

Some of the offensive graffiti at Bradford on Avon Skate Park has been covered up. Trevor Porter 77180-2 (Image: Trevor Porter)

Bradford on Avon mayor Jack Vittles said: “This sort of vandalism is completely unacceptable and is a kick in the teeth for all those who worked so hard to make this skatepark a reality as well all those who have been using it over the last year.

“We fully condemn any type of vandalism and some of the items thrown into the skatepark have the risk of causing lasting damage.

“The town council have today contacted the police to make them aware of the incident and I'd like to thank our excellent town wardens for having already cleaned and cleared the site. We will also work on removing the graffiti this week.

“If anyone sees any damage taking place, we'd urge residents to report this to the police immediately.”

Visiting skateboard enthusiast James Baker takes a look at the graffiti at Bradford on Avon’s new skate park.(Image: Trevor Porter)

The damage comes less than a year after the official opening of the skatepark in September 2023.

James Baker, 38, had travelled from Warminster to Bradford on Avon on Monday morning to use the skatepark only to find it was out of action.

He said: “The graffiti is fairly normal but the scattering of gravel all over the park makes it completely unusable.

Stones and gravel chippings were scattered over the Bradford on Avon Skate Park making it dangerous and unusable.  (Image: Trevor Porter)

“Every skatepark is going to be a victim to rubbish but the gravel thing is something that I have never seen before. It does seem like a sabotage and one step above vandalism.

“Graffiti doesn’t necessarily make a park unusable only slightly uglier but the gravel makes it unusable or dangerous.

“I don’t think that it’s people who use the park that have done it. I think it’s people that don’t necessarily use the park unless they are using it as a hang-out spot at weekends.

“There is a chance that it is locals who don’t like it here.”