BUCKHURST HILL: Vandals ordered to repair damage

10:15am Friday 10th October 2008

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VANDALS who started a fire in a nature reserve and destroyed a bridge have been ordered to repair the damage.

The youths set hay alight at Roding Valley Meadows in Buckhurst Hill before breaking up a wooden bridge.

Reserve warden Patrick Bailey said yobs had “run “rampage through the area on several occasions.

He added: “It’s like a disease at the moment and it’s one of those things which is always going to be an issue until they really have to pay for it.”

The youngsters were caught by the warden who confronted them.

He said: “I took photos of them so they knew they were caught and they waited for the police to arrive. One or two of them were quite complacent and didn’t show any care for what they’d done. It’s a big problem.

“I tried to explain to them that this is a nature reserve and we rely on charity donations. We can’t get people in the next day to repair the damage.” A passer-by was walking his dogs at the time and saw the youngsters damaging the area.

The man, who did not want to be named, said: “They were vandalising a wildlife reserve which is enjoyed by members of the public. It was mindless vandalism. There were about five of them and we watched as they broke up the bridge. I obviously didn't want to get involved being the age I am.”

But the youths admitted breaking the bridge and police attending the incident managed to catch all those involved.

They were reprimanded and will now be made to repair the damage to the bridge under instruction from the warden.

The passer-by added: “It shows that when something is dealt with in the right way you can get a good result. The warden didn’t speak down to them and handled the situation very well. I don’t understand why anyone would want to do that but at least they were caught.”

However, just a few days later, Mr Bailey found more vandals had targeted the area over the weekend.

He said: “They’ve taken all the wood which was smashed off the bridge and thrown it into the pond. They’ve created a lot of mess. It doesn’t happen every day but when they cut through the reserve and they are a bit drunk, they smash up whatever they can get their hands on.”

He added: “The message I want to get across is, if you do this you might get away with it now, but one day you will be caught.”