A community has hit back at the "horrible vandalism" at their beloved park. The Lees Hill Park Play Area, named after the street where it is located in Sneinton, has been rejuvenated by neighbours in the area in the last two years.
Plants and flowers were installed at the playground and on the pavement of Lees Hill Street in a bid to transform the hidden road into a 'little arboretum'. The community project was started by the area's most prolific plant-owners Kathryn Cooper, an artist and gardener living near the park.
But in recent weeks neighbours say that their beloved park has been vandalised. Flowers and part of the fence were destroyed and the soil was disturbed, causing anger in the community.
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Alan Clarke, a data analyst on Lees Hill Street and dad of one, said: "The tomato flower that my daughter has planted there was also destroyed. It is really sad, she is upset.
"It is just heart-breaking. This is like a community project."
The 46-year-old went on and said: "It used to be a mosque, then it was in derelict. Then it turned into a beautiful park that everyone can enjoy."
Mr Clarke, dad of a 10-year-old, added: "It is nice to live next to a park because I can just let my daughter play there. It makes me think twice whether I would let her go on her own now because of the vandalism."
Michael Harris, a mechanic who lives on the same street, added: "It is just horrible. I used to play in that park when I was a child and it was the worst.
"There were needles and broken glass down the slide. And then the people cleaned it up and it looked nice."
The 22-year-old added: "And now they are at it again. I just do not know why people are doing this."
Cameron Yazdi, a project manager in the area, 29, said the park use to be known as the 'needle park'. He added: "Some people are very proud to live in Sneinton and love this place. And then you get people who are causing trouble.
"I think it could be linked to poverty and depravation, or maybe it is just teenagers that just do not care.
"I think it was fantastic to see that people came together to transform the park. It is sad."
Leader of the City Council David Mellen, also councillor of the Dales Ward Councillor, added: "We cannot ultimately protect it. We can ask the police and the Community Protection Officers to patrol around that area a little bit more regularly. But they cannot be there 24 hours a day."
He added: "There's lots of people who have got flowers and plants outside the house and those have not been vandalised as far as I know. So it is a shame that people choose to do it in the communal area. Clearly this is something that I regret."
