‘Mindless idiots’ smash bottles all over Melton skate park

A party from Melton Wombles, a community group which aims to keep the town tidy by litter picking and clearing fly-tipping debris, worked to clear away the shattered glass yesterday (Monday).

Member Adrian Giles told the Melton Times: “Huge amounts of broken glass was found on and around the actual skate park, an area designed, intended and specially-constructed primarily for the use of our young people.

“It rendered the area unsafe for children and young people.

“We cleared this area of the glass, and were later joined by two council workers and a very helpful young person.”

The clean-up response was praised on social media by a number of residents, including Jo Pearson, who said the perpetrators were ‘stupid mindless idiots’ who risking causing serious injury to children and animals at the facility.

Mary Inchley, who helped make the skate park safe, posted: “A lovely lad came to use his skateboard but saw what had happened and spent about an hour helping us sweep and pick the glass up.”

Melton Borough Council manages the skate park, which is in Prior’s Close park close to its Parkside offices.

The authority told the Melton Times in a statement: “The skate park is inspected on a weekly basis to ensure the facility is safe to use and any issues, like cleaning or general maintenance, are dealt with swiftly.

“As a result of recent incidents, we are working with partners to ensure the area is monitored on a regular basis through patrols and engagement with users.

“We would like to encourage skate park users to inform us of issues at the earliest opportunity to ensure the fastest response possible.

“The skate park is a fantastic and well used facility and we encourage all visitors to use it responsibly and safely.”

Any anti-social behaviour at the Melton skate park can be reported online at www.melton.gov.uk or by calling 01664 502502.