Vandals leave Fife skate park ‘unusable’

A popular Glenrothes skate park which has been targeted by young vandals has been left ‘unusable’.
A burned out scooter and bike at the skate park.A burned out scooter and bike at the skate park.
A burned out scooter and bike at the skate park.

Families have been put off using the memorial skate park at Riverside Park, with smashed glass, burned out items and destroyed rubbish bins often littering the area.

Locals, including skaters desperate to use the facility, have often cleaned up the mess, only to find it vandalised again days later.

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Parent Tom Bell has tried to take his four-year-old child down to the skate park a few times, but has had to cancel because the vandalism has made it unsafe.

“The last time we went down there the whole area was covered in glass and ice,” he said.

“They’ve destroyed the bins. The time before that we found the remnants of a bike and a scooter that had been burned.

“Other bins in the park have been destroyed.

“It’s been going on since the summer. Kids on bikes went down and cleaned it so they could use it. I’ve gone down and cleaned it. The council has done a little bit.

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“I’ve taken my four-year-old down to try and teach them but I had to take them away. Some of my other friends have not been able to go down to the skate park as well.

“It’s not just affecting me. People are taking their kids down there, but it’s unusable.

“The kids are constantly causing problems, and it is disrespectful.”

Tom said the vandals are at the skate park every weekend causing damage, putting folk off using the facility.

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One time, a vandal even threw a glass bottle at Tom while he was at the skate park.

He said: “There’s nothing you can do. There is nothing stopping them.”

Tom said he had contacted Fife Council about the issue but that nothing had been done.

He has called for action to be taken to stop the vandalism.

“Nobody has done anything about the problem,” he said.

“The council goes down to the skate park once in a blue moon but that’s it.

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“They tidy the park up, pick up the bins – but that’s all they do”

Dawn Jamieson, team manager, Safer Communities, confirmed that the team were now aware of the vandalism and fire raising in the skate park.

She said: “Vandalism of any kind is unacceptable and a blight on our communities. We are stepping up our patrols in this area and working with police to help combat this anti-social behaviour.”

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